Handonghun: "Police Have a 'Structural' Problem, Not a 'Capability' Issue... Different from the Prosecution Ensuring Political Neutrality"

Minister of Justice nominee Han Dong-hoon is attending the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 9th, responding to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Han Dong-hoon, the nominee for Minister of Justice, repeatedly emphasized that the so-called 'Geomsu Wanbak' (complete removal of prosecutorial investigation rights) bill could cause harm to the public, and stated that the problem with the police lies not in investigative ability but in the structure.

On the 9th, at the National Assembly confirmation hearing, nominee Han expressed this position in response to related questions from Park Hyung-soo of the People Power Party.

On the same day, the Democratic Party strongly opposed Han’s remark during his greeting that "there is great public concern regarding the Geomsu Wanbak bill," arguing that "there has been no passage of a bill that completely strips investigation rights."

Committee member Park raised issues with the Geomsu Wanbak bill, stating that "Article 12, Clause 3 of the Constitution, which guarantees prosecutors’ rights to arrest, detention, and warrant requests, is premised on investigative rights, so partially removing these rights is also unconstitutional." Nominee Han responded, "The Constitution clearly stipulates the right to request warrants, and I believe the Constitution assumes that prosecutors perform the essential parts of investigations," adding that he thinks there is a high possibility of unconstitutionality.

Nominee Han pointed out, "When working with the police, their abilities in public safety crimes or violent crimes are outstanding to the point of admiration, but the issue is not ability but structure," and added, "The police are vulnerable in investigating power-related corruption." He explained, "(The police) have a structurally vertical hierarchical system," and "while the prosecution has mechanisms to guarantee political neutrality, the police are less prepared."

Regarding the Minister of Justice’s authority to direct investigations, he said, "Through three recent specific exercises of this authority, the system has been strongly used in a very negative way," and added, "Since it has become contaminated, inevitably, and this is also the incoming president’s view, I think it is right to boldly abandon this system at this stage."

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