Ministry of Justice: "Han Dong-hoon Did Not Report or Direct via 'Prosecutor Internal Network'"

On the 2nd, the Ministry of Justice refuted allegations that Minister Han Dong-hoon used the prosecution's internal network (Epross) to receive reports on specific cases and direct investigations, stating that it is "completely untrue."

Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon [Image source=Yonhap News]

In a press release on the same day, the Ministry of Justice expressed "deep regret over the repeated baseless false claims made with an obvious malicious intent to deceive the public by misleading them into believing that the minister receives unofficial reports on individual cases from prosecutors and gives instructions," referring to Kim Eo-jun and others.

It continued, "All previous ministers have carried out the duty of receiving reports related to prosecution work," and explained, "Receiving reports on cases through the Ministry of Justice’s relevant departments according to proper reporting procedures and persuasively explaining the facts of criminal charges and evidence as supporting materials before the National Assembly’s vote on arrest warrants is a legally mandated duty of the Minister of Justice."

It also stated, "Since the establishment of Epross (the prosecution’s internal network) messenger, accounts have been assigned to the Minister of Justice, who holds the highest supervisory authority over prosecution affairs, and this was the case under the previous administration as well," adding, "Former Minister Park Sang-ki communicated with prosecutors via Epross email, and former Ministers Park Sang-ki and Kang Geum-sil sent emails to all prosecutors nationwide."

Furthermore, it emphasized, "Minister Han has not received any reports through Epross, nor has he ever sent such emails."

Additionally, it added, "The computer installed in the minister’s office automatically logs into Epross upon booting, so login notifications appear even if it is not actually used."

Earlier, the internet media outlet 'Newsbus' reported that there was evidence Minister Han accessed the Epross messenger multiple times, raising the possibility that he communicated with frontline prosecutors or directed cases.

Broadcaster Kim Eo-jun also cited this report on his YouTube show 'Kim Eo-jun’s Humility is Difficult News Factory,' stating that "Minister Han accessed the internal network messenger, which only prosecution members can use, despite not being an active prosecutor, and still seems to consider himself a prosecutor."

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