Ministry of Justice "Agrees with Yoon's Pledge Intent"…Discusses Legal Revisions Process in Transition Team's Work Report

Yongho Lee "No Clear Position Expressed on Support for Abolishing Investigation Command Authority"

On the afternoon of the 29th, Yusangbeom, a committee member, and Jooyounghwan, the Ministry of Justice's Policy Office Director, greeted each other at the Ministry of Justice briefing held at the Transition Committee in Samcheong-dong, Seoul. Photo by Transition Committee Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] The Ministry of Justice conveyed to the Presidential Transition Committee that it "fully understands and sympathizes with the campaign intentions of President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol."

On the 29th, the Political, Judicial, and Administrative Subcommittee of the Transition Committee received a work report from the Ministry of Justice at the Transition Committee office in Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Lee Yong-ho, a member of the People Power Party and the secretary of the Political, Judicial, and Administrative Subcommittee, stated in a briefing after the work report, "The Ministry of Justice expressed its position to actively support the process of re-amending laws to fulfill the campaign promises."

Regarding the issue of abolishing the Minister of Justice's authority to direct investigations, the Transition Committee pointed out that "the investigative directive authority has been used as a tool for prosecutorial control by power, undermining the independence and neutrality of the prosecution," and the Ministry of Justice "sympathized with the controversy that the exercise of the Minister of Justice's investigative directive authority has partially caused damage to the prosecution's independence and neutrality," Lee explained.

However, the Ministry of Justice did not express a clear stance on whether it supports the abolition, and Lee added that the Ministry responded that it would actively participate if there are legislative amendment efforts under the new administration.

Joo Young-hwan, Director General of the Planning and Coordination Office at the Ministry of Justice (fourth from the left), and other Ministry of Justice staff are waiting to report on their work at the transition committee office in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, on the 29th. Photo by Transition Committee Press Corps

The Transition Committee also pointed out to the Ministry of Justice that the 'Regulations on Prohibition of Disclosure of Criminal Cases' fail to balance the rights of suspects and the public's right to know, and that the regulations have been selectively and politically enforced.

These regulations, which came into effect in December 2019, are Ministry of Justice directives that prohibit investigative agencies from informing the media or others about suspects' facts and investigation status.

Notably, the period when the Ministry of Justice was preparing to introduce these regulations coincided with an active prosecution investigation into the family of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, who had newly taken office at the time. Consequently, there were criticisms that the government was trying to block media coverage related to former Minister Cho's allegations.

In response, the Ministry of Justice stated that it would actively discuss with the Transition Committee the abolition and amendment of the regulations on prohibition of disclosure of criminal cases, Lee conveyed in the briefing.

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