Yoon Administration's First Prosecutor General Confirmation Hearing... Lee Won-seok: "Prosecution Will Strengthen Fairness and Objectivity"

Democratic Party "Poor Submission of Documents Including Children"... Lee "Admitted Through Regular Admission, No Scholarship"
Lee Jae-myung, Democratic Party Leader, Likely to Face Prosecutors' Investigation Notice and Intensified Probe

Candidate for Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok is delivering opening remarks at the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 5th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] The parliamentary confirmation hearing for Lee Won-seok, the nominee for the first Prosecutor General under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, was held on the 5th. During the hearing, the opposition party is expected to launch an offensive regarding the prosecution's investigations targeting the opposition, including the summons notice for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea.

In his opening remarks at the confirmation hearing, nominee Lee stated, "Last year, the adjustment of investigative authority brought fundamental changes to the criminal justice system that had been maintained for over 70 years, and before this system is fully established in practice, we are now facing the implementation of a new system again." He added, "I believe the prosecution has not yet fully earned the trust of the public."

He continued, "The reason for the prosecution's existence is to protect the basic rights of the people, such as life, body, safety, and property, and through this, to maintain and develop our community." He emphasized, "We will respond more strictly to crimes that harm the livelihood of ordinary citizens, such as voice phishing and jeonse fraud, as well as violent crimes targeting socially vulnerable groups including children, the disabled, and women."

He further stated, "All prosecutorial duties, including investigation, trial, and execution of sentences, will be conducted solely based on law and principles, evidence, and legal reasoning." He added, "By investigating and deciding all cases impartially based on fact recognition according to evidence and legal interpretation according to law, we will further strengthen the fairness and objectivity of the prosecution."

The Democratic Party of Korea sharply criticized nominee Lee from the beginning of the hearing for his inadequate submission of documents. Democratic Party lawmaker Kwon In-sook said, "The Prosecutor General is closely related to the basic rights of the people, so thorough verification is necessary, but the materials submitted by the nominee are at a level that makes verification impossible." She criticized, "There are omissions in documents regarding whether his children received scholarships and the reason his eldest son was classified as a public service worker, which is an act of disregarding the public."

In response, nominee Lee explained, "My child entered university through the regular admission process, so there was no separate document to submit, and he did not receive any scholarships." He added, "There are no artworks or paintings, and I have never held golf clubs, so there were no resort or condo usage rights to submit."

Additionally, the opposition is expected to pressure nominee Lee by criticizing the prosecution's passive stance on investigations surrounding First Lady Kim Keon-hee.

Regarding this, nominee Lee answered in the written response submitted to the National Assembly, "The Prosecutor General's authority to direct investigations was excluded, so I was not informed about the progress of the investigations." Previously, former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae, in October 2020, exercised the investigative command authority excluding the then Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol from directing investigations related to the president's family and associates. Former Minister Park Beom-gye also maintained this exclusion of investigative command authority.

During the hearing, the Democratic Party is expected to press nominee Lee on investigations related to the Moon Jae-in administration, including the nuclear phase-out policy and repatriation cases, as well as controversies such as the 'investigation information leak' during the 2016 'Jung Un-ho Gate' investigation.

Furthermore, it is anticipated that discussions will continue regarding nominee Lee's classification within the prosecution as part of the 'Yoon Seok-yeol faction,' his personal friendship with Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon, who was his classmate at the Judicial Research and Training Institute, and the partisan disputes over the enforcement decree of the 'Restoration of Prosecution's Investigative Authority' (Geomsuwonbok).

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