Jeong Dong-yeong "Han Dong-hoon More Political Than Politician... First Time Seeing Such a Minister of Justice"

"Somewhat Cruel from a Humanitarian Perspective"
"Abolishing 9.19 Is Like Unbuckling a Seatbelt"

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon was criticized by former Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young for his remarks regarding the hospital transfer of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who was on a hunger strike. Han had said, "If the judicial system stops because a suspect is on a hunger strike, petty criminals will follow suit," implying such a precedent should not be set.

On the 19th, Jeong appeared on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs' and said, "This is the first time I have seen a justice minister like this. It seems unprecedented since liberation."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Minister Han commented on Lee's hospital transfer due to deteriorating health, saying, "I believe a precedent should not be set where the judicial system halts because a suspect under investigation is on a hunger strike or self-harming. Otherwise, petty criminals will all do the same in the future."

However, former Minister Jeong pointed out that this stance is problematic from a humanitarian perspective. He said, "There are two aspects: one is that it is somewhat cruel from a humanitarian viewpoint, and although they talk about the rule of law, isn't this soft fascism disguised as the rule of law? It seems they think they can manipulate 50 million citizens with prosecutorial power, but that is a delusion."

He added, "That dream will be shattered and must be faced. The people of the Republic of Korea are world-class citizens. Over the past 100 years, they have broken all kinds of oppression and chains to come this far," and warned, "Governments that underestimate the people will inevitably face consequences."

Regarding Rep. Shin Won-sik, a nominee for Minister of National Defense, expressing a stance to scrap the September 19 Pyongyang Joint Declaration, Jeong said, "Mentioning the scrapping of the September 19 declaration is something that should never be done as it endangers security, especially as a soldier," adding, "If it is scrapped, it would mean entering an era where those living in Paju, Cheorwon, Hongcheon, and Yeoncheon cannot sleep peacefully, and the risk of sudden accidental clashes becomes unavoidable."

He continued, "There are actually 24 articles; about half have been observed and half have not. However, psychologically and practically, between the North and South, the North also does not want conflict," and said, "To deliberately scrap this is like unfastening the seatbelt yourself."

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