President Moon: "If the Prosecutor General asked for the personnel list, it would be an extralegal authority"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yang Nak-gyu] President Moon Jae-in recently commented on the Ministry of Justice's personnel reshuffle in the prosecution, stating, "If the Prosecutor General, who is supposed to express opinions on personnel matters, says 'I can only give my opinion if the personnel list is brought to a third location,' it is a step backward in the personnel process."

On the 14th, at the Blue House's State Guest House, during the New Year's press conference under the theme "Definite Change, Republic of Korea 2020," President Moon said, "I don't know if such a thing happened in the past, but if it did, it would truly be an extralegal exercise of authority and power," emphasizing, "If the Minister of Justice comes and asks for opinions, I believe the Prosecutor General should comply without hesitation."

President Moon mentioned, "In the past, when the Prosecutor General and the Minister of Justice were senior and junior colleagues in the prosecution, opinions might have been exchanged comfortably and behind closed doors, but now that times have changed, even if the content is not disclosed, procedures such as the Prosecutor General's expression of personnel opinions and the Minister of Justice's recommendation should be conducted transparently."

He added, "I judge that this incident occurred in a situation where the method and procedure for expressing opinions and making recommendations were not established, and I hope that this occasion will lead to the establishment of transparent procedures for expressing opinions and making recommendations that the public can be aware of."

This was President Moon's third New Year's press conference. Unlike previous years, since he delivered a New Year's address on the 7th, the conference proceeded in a Q&A format after a brief opening remark of about three minutes without a separate New Year's address. The Q&A with reporters was divided into three topics?politics and society, livelihood and economy, and diplomacy and security?without pre-selecting questioners.