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Candidate for Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok is attending the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 5th, responding to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] The confirmation hearing for Lee Won-seok, Deputy Prosecutor General of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the first nominee for Prosecutor General under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration (age 53, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 27), concluded around midnight after approximately 14 hours of proceedings.

During the hearing, the ruling party mainly questioned the investigation into Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, while the opposition focused on allegations surrounding Kim Geon-hee, leading to a heated exchange.

Regarding the summons request for Lee Jae-myung, who is under suspicion of violating the Public Official Election Act, the nominee stated, "He was given ample opportunity to make a statement."

At the National Assembly confirmation hearing held from the morning of the 5th, in response to a question from Jeon Ju-hye of the People Power Party asking, "Even if Lee does not appear, can you not decide whether to indict based on evidence and legal principles?" Lee replied, "I will make judgments based solely on evidence and legal principles in all cases, not limited to this one."

When asked about the Democratic Party's characterization of the summons to Lee as a 'declaration of war,' he avoided a direct answer, saying, "Since the investigation is ongoing, I cannot provide detailed comments, but it is proceeding according to standard procedures."

The nominee also provided a more detailed explanation regarding the background of the summons request for Lee.

When Democratic Party lawmaker Kwon In-sook stated, "Issuing a summons without proper procedural consultation to the opposition leader over such matters is simply an attempt to intimidate the opposition and seize public opinion," Lee countered, "The claim that there was no procedural consultation is not true."

He added, "We requested a written response, but after the deadline passed without any communication from Lee, we had no choice but to request his appearance to provide an explanation. We will judge solely based on evidence and legal principles, and the investigation is being conducted following normal, routine procedures without any ulterior motives."

When Kwon pointed out that "Lee was summarily summoned immediately after being elected as party leader at the party convention," Lee retorted, "Then should we have summoned him during the party convention, which is a festival and celebration for the opposition?"

He continued, "We do not intend to fight with the National Assembly, which represents the people. How could we fight against the people?" and added, "We are simply doing what is right. I hope there are no misunderstandings."

Regarding the opposition lawmakers' questions about the 'Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case,' in which Kim Geon-hee is implicated, the nominee expressed his intention to personally oversee the investigation if appointed Prosecutor General.

In response to related questions from Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Eui-gyeom, he said that the investigation directive by former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae, which prevented then-Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol from directing investigations related to his family, is still valid, and that he has no information on the matter.

He added, "I do not understand why the former Prosecutor General, in consultation with the former Minister of Justice, did not exercise investigative authority and why the head of the Central District Prosecutors' Office announced that they would not report to or take direction from the Prosecutor General."

The nominee also actively explained himself regarding opposition criticism that, while serving as head of the Special Investigation Division 1 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in 2016 during the 'Jung Woon-ho Gate' investigation, he repeatedly informed Kim Hyun-bo, then Ethics Auditor of the Court Administration Office, about planned warrant requests and judicial misconduct information, which was seen as problematic.

He stated, "Since the judge under investigation was still presiding over trials at the time, I notified the Ethics Auditor to consider suspension from duties, disciplinary action, or personnel measures," emphasizing, "Although Kim was a classmate from the Judicial Research and Training Institute, we had no personal friendship, and I only conveyed work-related information."

He added, "I also prosecuted a former judge who was a classmate from the Judicial Research and Training Institute in this case," and "I did my best in the investigation, indicting a total of 11 people in connection with legal corruption cases."

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