President Moon to Hold Prosecutorial Reform Meeting Tomorrow... Supporting Choo Mi-ae

The 2nd National Intelligence Service, Prosecution, and Police Reform Strategy Meeting

President Moon Jae-in is waiting to deliver a commemorative speech at the 1st Youth Day ceremony held on the morning of the 19th at the Green Garden of the Blue House.

President Moon Jae-in will call Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae to the Blue House on the 21st to discuss plans for prosecutorial reform. Minister Chu has recently been at the center of controversy due to unfairness issues related to her son. In this context, the image of President Moon and Minister Chu discussing reforms of power institutions side by side has led to interpretations that President Moon is lending support to Minister Chu.

According to the Blue House, President Moon will preside over the 2nd Strategic Meeting on Reform of the National Intelligence Service, Prosecution, and Police, held at the Blue House's State Guest House on the afternoon of the 21st.

The meeting is expected to cover overall topics related to reforming power institutions, including checking the progress of establishing the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (Hugo), adjusting investigative authority between prosecution and police, and promoting the autonomous police system, the Blue House said.

Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae, Minister of the Interior and Safety Jin Young, Director of the National Intelligence Service Park Ji-won, and other minister-level officials are expected to attend the strategic meeting. However, Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl is reported not to be attending. At the first meeting, neither the Prosecutor General nor the Commissioner of the National Police Agency attended.

This meeting is the first to be held in one year and seven months since the first meeting at the Blue House in February last year.

At the first meeting, President Moon expressed a strong will for reforming power institutions.

At that time, Director of the National Intelligence Service Suh Hoon, Minister of Justice Park Sang-ki, and Minister of the Interior and Safety Kim Boo-kyum attended, and during the two-hour meeting, President Moon said, "If reforms do not extend to legal and institutional changes, I am truly afraid it might be like a stretched rubber band snapping back."

He continued, "Reforms have not been achieved to the satisfaction of the people," emphasizing, "We must relentlessly pursue reforms up to the people's expectations."

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is leaving work at the Government Complex Gwacheon on the evening of the 18th.

Meanwhile, the ruling party is focusing on blocking escalation by ordering a calm response within the party regarding allegations of preferential treatment during Minister Chu's son's military service.

At the Supreme Council meeting on the 18th, Representative Lee Nak-yeon said, "It has become clear that the opposition's baseless allegations and political attacks such as exaggeration are unlikely to gain public consent," adding, "It is better to clearly ascertain the facts but refrain from overreacting."

There are also voices claiming that the opposition's attacks on Minister Chu are aimed at blocking prosecutorial reform. Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Doo-kwan stated in a broadcast interview on the 20th that "The People's Power party harbors a hidden intention to protect prosecutorial vested interests." He added, "The People's Power party is in a position to block prosecutorial reform, and Minister Chu is at the forefront of reform."