Jeon Hae-cheol: "Moon's 40% Approval Rating Is Unusual... I Do Not Agree with Negative Evaluations"

Press Conference Held Ahead of Minister of the Interior and Safety's Retirement Ceremony... "Approval Rating 40%, Unprecedented Level Since 1987 Regime"
"Successful COVID-19 Response" Evaluation... Outdoor Mask Removal "Difficult to Accept Transition Team's Opinion... Based on Scientific Judgment"
Police Independence "Must Be Maintained in New Government as Well"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Jeon Hae-cheol, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, described President Moon Jae-in's 40% approval rating as unusual and expressed disagreement with the negative evaluations of the Moon administration. He also emphasized that the independence of the police must be respected in response to concerns that the new government might strengthen interference with the police.

Minister Jeon made these remarks during a press conference with reporters on the 29th, just before his retirement. He had served as the Minister of the Interior and Safety since December 2020, during the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said, "The president's approval rating in the 40% range is a level not easily achieved since the 1987 regime," adding, "Evaluations of the Moon administration should be made objectively over time." He continued, "Issues such as real estate problems and the Democratic Party's presidential election defeat are also subjects for evaluation," but added, "Nonetheless, I do not agree with the premise that the Moon administration was wrong."

Regarding COVID-19 quarantine measures, he assessed that a significant part had been overcome. Minister Jeon stated, "Although there are criticisms about the high number of confirmed cases, ultimately, a considerable part has been overcome," and explained, "Strong regulations were implemented early on when the outbreak began in Daegu, and when Omicron arrived, restrictions were eased while establishing a hospital bed response system, which shows that quarantine measures were well managed."

He expressed difficulty in accepting the Presidential Transition Committee's criticism concerning the lifting of the outdoor mask mandate. The committee pointed out that late May would be the appropriate time to decide on lifting the mandate and criticized the current government's measures as premature.

Minister Jeon explained, "We considered the committee's criticism, but judged it difficult to accept it as is," and added, "We made decisions respecting the opinions of the quarantine authorities based on scientific evidence."

Regarding concerns that the independence of the police might be compromised by the new government's first Minister of the Interior and Safety, he emphasized that the minister's authority must not exceed legal boundaries. The first minister under the new government is Lee Sang-min, a former judge and close associate of President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol.

Minister Jeon said, "The police, which were once the Security Headquarters under the Ministry of Home Affairs, became an independent external agency and gained considerable independence due to historical processes that addressed the harms of power concentration," adding, "There is a historical reason for granting independence to the police and channeling the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's authority through the Police Commission, and this must be respected."

He reaffirmed his previous stance that it is not appropriate to rush the so-called 'Geomsu Wanbak (separation of prosecution investigation and indictment authority)' legislation, which has been rapidly advancing recently. Minister Jeon said, "It is not appropriate for a cabinet minister to say which proposal is correct," but noted, "There needs to be much discussion on how to set the standards."

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