The Ministry of Justice's recent work processing speed is considerably fast

Two Months Since Minister Han Dong-hoon's Inauguration
Rapid Progress Including Reestablishment of the Joint Investigation Unit
Meanwhile, Han Yeon-sun Says "Because of Strong Authority"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] "These days, the Ministry of Justice processes things quite quickly whenever it tries to do something."

Many prosecutors and Ministry of Justice officials working on the front lines told this to our paper. They said that the entire process?from the review stage to forming response teams and implementation?is much faster compared to previous administrations.

On the 27th, it has been just over two months since Han Dong-hoon was appointed Minister of Justice. In this relatively short period, the Ministry of Justice has presented many tasks, formed task forces, and moved to execute them. Even if not fully implemented, several initiatives have become quite concrete. The Ministry of Justice has been moving busily, matching the straightforward and bold language of the minister at official events. Within two months, there have been major reforms in foreigner policies such as the establishment of the Immigration Office, lowering the age of criminal responsibility for juvenile offenders, introduction of the computer-based testing (CBT) program for the bar exam, and improvements in the environment for correctional officers and inmates. Regarding prosecution, the Ministry reinstated the Financial and Securities Crime Joint Investigation Unit and filed a constitutional review petition against the "complete removal of prosecution's investigative authority" (Geomsu Wanbak) bill. The legal community also expects that the five core tasks Minister Han reported directly to President Yoon Seok-youl at the Yongsan Presidential Office the day before will proceed quickly. The Ministry of Justice’s distributed document titled ‘Key 5 Tasks of Work Report’ even specifies target completion dates for each detailed task, indicating that the Ministry has already established concrete implementation plans internally.

While there are evaluations that the Ministry is "doing well" because it can process work quickly, some point out that "this is possible because Minister Han’s authority is extremely powerful." There are also concerns that proper procedures are not being followed in the rapid processing. Criticism is particularly strong regarding the relatively late start of the regular personnel reshuffle in prosecution, which is to be conducted while the Prosecutor General position is vacant, and the personnel appointment process for the Prosecutor General, which has been vacant for over two months. Issues regarding the Personnel Information Management Unit, which was created by the Ministry of Justice with delegated authority, also remain.

After the work report, Minister Han confidently stated in a briefing, "The approximately 33,800 public officials of the Ministry of Justice work solely for the people, aiming for justice, common sense, and the rule of law. We will promptly process the contents of the work report." This was read as a determination to push forward head-on. Regarding the ‘strengthening of the prosecution’s direct investigative functions’ during the work report, he said, "Currently, the nation’s capacity to respond to corruption issues has been greatly reduced, and how to respond to this is the Ministry of Justice’s top priority." On the legality debate over the Personnel Information Management Unit, he emphasized, "The Minister of Justice is also a step of the President. This system, which conducts the first personnel verification, is proceeding according to due process, and now is the time to stabilize this system and consider operating it in a way that helps the President make lawful and fair personnel decisions."

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