[General Election Profile] Hwang Kyo-ahn, Over 20 Years as a Public Security Prosecutor... Also Requested Leniency in Unjust Cases

On the morning of the 26th, the first day of candidate registration for the 21st National Assembly election, Hwang Kyo-ahn, a candidate from the United Future Party running in Jongno-gu, is registering as a candidate at the Jongno-gu Election Commission in Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the United Future Party, took on a 'triple role' in the April 15 general election. As a candidate running in Jongno, Seoul, party leader, and chief election committee chairman, he must lead the nationwide election campaign. His opponent in the Jongno election is Lee Nak-yeon of the Democratic Party of Korea, who consistently ranks first in presidential preference polls. This is why the shoulders of a man who has only been in politics for a year are so heavy.

Although he left a strong bureaucratic image after serving as Minister of Justice and Prime Minister during the Park Geun-hye administration, he spent most of his life as a prosecutor. He worked as a prosecutor for 28 years, and from the late 1980s, after being assigned to the Public Security Department, he followed the path of a 'public security prosecutor.' In his book, Hwang Kyo-ahn's Answer, he described his encounter with the Public Security Department as "one of the turning points in my life."

In particular, he is a staunch supporter of maintaining the National Security Law, earning the nickname 'Mr. National Security Law.' During the Kim Dae-jung administration in 1998, when debates over the abolition of the National Security Law arose, he published a 'National Security Law Commentary,' emphasizing that "although the scope and standards of application may change, it is a law that is absolutely necessary even after unification." In 2013, in a written response submitted during his confirmation hearing for Minister of Justice, he also stated, "Considering the current situation where North Korea's security threat has not been resolved, the National Security Law is necessary."

His values are clearly reflected in his leadership in dissolving the Unified Progressive Party during his tenure as Minister of Justice. In his book, Hwang said, "Many public security prosecutors, including myself, judged the Unified Progressive Party to be a clearly unconstitutional party," and added, "I personally went to the Constitutional Court with the resolve that I would take full responsibility and presented the Ministry of Justice's position through a petition."

This led to direct conflict with the Roh Moo-hyun administration over the investigation of Professor Kang Jung-gu of Dongguk University in 2005 regarding his book Unification War. At that time, Professor Kang claimed that "the Korean War was a unification war attempted by the North Korean leadership," which led to a complaint from an organization. As the deputy chief prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Hwang, who was in charge of the investigation, argued that this constituted aiding the enemy under the National Security Law and pushed for strong measures such as detention. However, Roh Moo-hyun administration's Minister of Justice Cheon Jeong-bae (currently a member of the Minsheng Party) exercised his authority to direct the prosecution to indict without detention.

This incident escalated into a conflict between the Prosecutor General and the Minister of Justice, resulting in Prosecutor General Kim Jong-bin's resignation. Regarding this, Cheon later said on a radio program in 2013, "The directive for non-detention at the time did not mean not to punish Professor Kang. It meant that if there was no risk of evidence destruction or flight, detention should not be applied." However, Hwang reflected on this in his book, saying, "I sometimes think this may have been an obstacle to my promotion to chief prosecutor. It was an incident that caused a major upheaval in my life."

However, during the 'National Intelligence Service (NIS) comment investigation' controversy that arose during his tenure as Minister of Justice, Hwang pressured the prosecution from the opposite stance. When the prosecution investigation team suggested detaining former NIS Director Won Sei-hoon on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act, he opposed it, even mentioning 'the conscience of a legal professional.'

Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the United Future Party, is attending the Central Election Countermeasures Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 26th and delivering an opening remark. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

In 2005, he handled several high-profile cases that attracted public attention. One of them was the so-called 'Samsung X-file case.' This case involved the National Security Planning Agency (predecessor of the National Intelligence Service) secretly recording private conversations between Lee Hak-soo, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics, and Hong Seok-hyun, Chairman of JoongAng Ilbo, which were then leaked to the media. Leading the special investigation team at the time, Hwang arrested two former NIS directors for illegal wiretapping. However, he faced criticism both internally and externally for punishing only the whistleblowers (such as Assemblyman Roh Hoe-chan and journalist Lee Sang-ho) while the corruption (Samsung officials were not indicted) was overlooked.

After announcing the investigation results, Hwang faced intense questioning at a press conference, including whether there was insufficient effort to secure evidence beyond the statements of the parties involved. He retorted, "We could not search over 60 affiliates to resolve suspicions that 1 billion won was made from 3 to 4 affiliates. Investigations are not done recklessly with just willpower and illegally."

This series of incidents contributed to his image as an authoritarian public security prosecutor. Under the value of 'protecting the liberal democratic system,' he was seen as lenient toward vested interests but strict toward nationalists and labor activists.

However, there are also voices that he was a fairly humane prosecutor who cared for the vulnerable during his time as a prosecutor. In 2005, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office faced difficulties due to an elderly woman staging a hunger strike in front of the building. Her son, who had been employed by a large corporation, was bullied and became disabled after attempting suicide. She had been protesting for over three years, demanding an investigation and recognition of industrial accident. As the protest intensified to the point of blocking the Prosecutor General's vehicle by lying on the street, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office demanded strict punishment.

However, upon hearing the story from the investigating prosecutor, Hwang said, "There is always a reason why a bird sings," and supported the investigating prosecutor's report to cancel the detention. The prosecutor in charge of this case was former prosecutor Kim Woong (currently a United Future Party candidate for Songpa-gap), who wrote Diary of a Prosecutor.

Candidate Kim recalled, "He personally went to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and explained that there seemed to be an unfair situation and that the protest would not happen again, suggesting leniency. Although he had a cold image, when he was in the prosecution, he believed that social minorities should receive one level of sentence reduction during sentencing. He was even considered too compassionate and showed consideration for minorities."