Justice Party Demands Withdrawal of Han Dong-hoon Nomination... "Seems to Aim at President and Prosecutor as One Entity"

Proposal to Postpone Prosecutor Reform Bill and Establish Discussion Body
"Did They Elect Prosecutor Guardians?" Criticism Abounds

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] The Justice Party has demanded the withdrawal of the nomination of Han Dong-hoon as Minister of Justice. At the same time, it proposed postponing the passage of the "Geomsu Wanbak" (complete removal of prosecutorial investigation rights) bill, which the Democratic Party of Korea is pushing for, within April and establishing a parliamentary discussion body.

On the morning of the 14th, Justice Party leader Yeo Young-guk held a leadership meeting at the National Assembly and said, "President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol symbolizes the unity of the president and the prosecution and is realizing concerns about a prosecutorial republic. Please withdraw the nomination of candidate Han." He added, "I hope you remember that this appointment contradicts your own words when you were Prosecutor General, insisting that the neutrality and independence of the prosecution must be guaranteed."

He explained, "The current situation, where the president-elect who was a former Prosecutor General has nominated Han, his closest aide during his tenure as Prosecutor General, as Minister of Justice overseeing prosecutorial affairs, seems to revive the abolished principle of the unity of the prosecutor and even aims for a presidential-prosecutor unity." He added, "At this dangerous peak of prosecutorial empowerment, democratic control over prosecutorial power is an important task toward democracy."

Furthermore, he requested the Democratic Party to postpone the passage of the prosecution reform bill within this month. Leader Yeo said, "The Democratic Party should refrain from forcing the passage of the prosecution reform bill in the April extraordinary session to prevent the reform from deviating into a head-on confrontation between camps, and listen to the concerns both inside and outside." He emphasized, "Above all, they must reconsider what the goal of prosecution reform is."

He also proposed establishing a parliamentary discussion body to discuss prosecution reform. He argued, "After the first adjustment of investigative rights between the prosecution and police, to conduct an in-depth evaluation of the criminal justice system and prepare reasonable alternatives that the majority agree on, let us stop the head-on confrontation and immediately promote prosecution reform through sufficient deliberation and bipartisan agreement."

Regarding this, he added, "Due to the nomination of candidate Han, the forced passage of 'Geomsu Wanbak' in the April extraordinary session, which is escalating into a stronger confrontation, is unlikely to gain public sympathy and consent."

On the same day, Floor Leader Bae Jin-kyo also criticized Han’s appointment, saying, "We cannot help but ask whether the person chosen as Minister of Justice is a 'protector of the people' who will lead the establishment of legal order and protection of human rights, or a 'protector of the prosecution' and 'protector of President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol' who will create prosecutorial power expansion and complete political retaliation." He also pointed out, "Candidate Han is not an appointment that guarantees the independence and neutrality of the prosecution but merely a personnel move to control and line up the prosecution."

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