"Geomsuwanbak is a midnight escape," Han Dong-hoon says... Hwang Kyo-ik asks, "Why the phone password?"

Minister of Justice nominee Han Dong-hoon listens to questions from the press as he arrives at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office building in Seocho-gu, Seoul, where his nominee office has been set up, on the morning of the 15th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

원본보기 아이콘

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Han Dong-hoon, the nominee for Minister of Justice, expressed opposition to the "Geomsu Wanbak" (Complete Removal of Prosecutorial Investigation Authority) bill promoted by the Democratic Party of Korea, calling it a "midnight escape." In response, former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon described it as "very logical and reasonable," while food columnist Hwang Kyo-ik criticized it as an "inappropriate analogy."

On the 17th, Hwang said on his Facebook, "A midnight escape means secretly fleeing to avoid others' eyes." He added, "(Han's claim) is that the Moon Jae-in administration is pursuing Geomsu Wanbak to evade prosecution investigations," and stated, "Comparing Geomsu Wanbak to a midnight escape is inappropriate."

Earlier, Han had remarked regarding Geomsu Wanbak, "The public must be very curious about what happened over the past five years that led to such a baseless midnight escape."

In response, Hwang said, "Investigation authority is a power of the state, and Geomsu Wanbak transfers the investigation authority from the prosecution to the police," adding, "Geomsu Wanbak does not mean the state's investigation authority disappears."

He also mentioned the 'Channel A Prosecution-Media Collusion Allegation' case in which Han was investigated. The prosecution decided not to indict and closed the investigation on the 6th. The investigation could not proceed because they failed to unlock Han's cellphone password submitted during the search and seizure.

Regarding this, Hwang said, "Han not providing his cellphone password could be likened to a midnight escape," and added, "Just as one would not flee at midnight if innocent, it is common sense to think that if one were innocent, they would have provided the cellphone password."

Meanwhile, former professor Jin agreed with Han's opposition to the Geomsu Wanbak bill. On the 15th, Jin said on CBS Radio's 'Hanpan Seungbu,' "The Geomsu Wanbak bill makes no sense," and "It did not come out of any rational or reasonable discussion on prosecutorial reform but rather from political motives to rally their own supporters, so it is a complete mess."

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, also supported this stance, saying, "It aligns with the party's position." On the same day, Lee wrote on Facebook, "If the Democratic Party continues to push the reckless Geomsu Wanbak, we will have no choice but to utilize the legislated permanent special prosecutor system." He added, "Of course, by then, the Democratic Party will again boast about their 180 seats and call for abolishing the permanent special prosecutor system, but how long can they keep shaking the foundation of the nation by repeating this?"

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.