Transition Team: "Park Beom-gye is rude... Postponement of Ministry of Justice Work Report" (Comprehensive)

Insoo Committee Political, Legal, and Administrative Subcommittee Emergency Press Conference on the Morning of the 24th

On the morning of the 24th, when the Presidential Transition Committee abruptly postponed the Ministry of Justice's work report, Ministry of Justice employees were arriving at the Government Complex Gwacheon. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporters Bomryeong Geum, Gimin Lee] The 20th Presidential Transition Committee postponed the Ministry of Justice's scheduled briefing on the 24th.

The Political, Judicial, and Administrative Subcommittee of the Transition Committee held an emergency press conference on the morning of the same day at the Korea Financial Training Institute in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, stating, "It is rude and incomprehensible that Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye, who will step down in about 40 days due to the regime change, openly opposes the ministry's briefing a day before it was scheduled regarding the pledges of the president-elect chosen by the people."

Minister Park expressed opposition at a press meeting the previous day to the president-elect Yoon Seok-yeol's judicial reform pledges, including abolishing the Minister of Justice's authority to direct investigations on specific cases, granting the prosecution budgetary authority, and expanding the prosecution's direct investigations.

In response, the Transition Committee said, "Members of each administrative department have the duty to respect the governance philosophy of the president-elect chosen by the people and to make every effort to implement the pledges," adding, "The Political, Judicial, and Administrative Subcommittee members judged that the Ministry of Justice's briefing scheduled for this morning was meaningless and believed that a cooling-off period and time for reflection were necessary."

They further stated, "The pledge to abolish the Minister of Justice's authority to direct investigations on specific cases, as stipulated in Article 8 of the Prosecutors' Office Act, embodies the president-elect's philosophy and will to restore public trust in the prosecution and strengthen its independence and political neutrality," emphasizing, "President-elect Yoon's pledge to abolish the Minister of Justice's investigative directive is a declaration to block the pathway through which the Blue House and the ruling party intervene in prosecution investigations via the Minister of Justice, thereby enabling the prosecution to investigate even the living power without sanctuary for the people."

Moreover, "The pledge to grant the prosecution budgetary authority is also an expression of the president-elect's intention to establish democratic and direct parliamentary control mechanisms over the prosecution to strengthen its independence and political neutrality," they criticized, "Minister Park's press meeting yesterday distorted the president-elect's true intention to return the prosecution to the people for the people."

The Transition Committee reiterated the need for the Ministry of Justice's "reflection time." They noted that the positions of Minister Park and the Ministry of Justice should be viewed separately. After the press conference, Lee Yong-ho, the secretary of the Political, Judicial, and Administrative Subcommittee, and Yoo Sang-beom, a transition committee member, told reporters, "Minister Park and the Ministry of Justice may have different positions," adding, "We thought it necessary to take time for various deliberations within the Ministry of Justice." The Ministry of Justice's briefing is scheduled to be held before the 29th.

However, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office briefing will proceed as planned on the same day. Yoo said, "Since the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution have different opinions on the same matter, we thought it inappropriate to receive the briefing together, so we separated them."

The Transition Committee explained that the decision to postpone the Ministry of Justice's briefing did not reflect the president-elect's will. When asked, "Was the president-elect's intention reflected?" Yoo replied, "It was entirely decided through consultation among the transition committee members," adding, "It was not the president-elect's intention."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.