Cho Kuk "Why is 'Geomran' only mentioned for non-prosecutor Ministry of Justice ministers?"

Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, who was indicted in connection with allegations of covering up an inspection, is heading to the courtroom to attend a continuation hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the morning of September 11. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-eun] Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk recently criticized the internal backlash within the prosecution against Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae.

On the 1st, former Minister Cho wrote on his Facebook, "As an ordinary citizen, I have a few questions for the prosecution, which holds investigative, prosecutorial, and prosecutorial authority," and asked, "When the prosecution dismissed charges related to candidate Lee Myung-bak's DAS and BBK allegations two weeks before the 2007 presidential election, why was everyone silent?"

He continued, "When the prosecution dismissed charges twice in 2013 and 2015 regarding former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui's sexual crimes, why was everyone silent?" He also asked, "Even though sexual violence crimes became 'non-complaint crimes' in June 2013, why was there no investigation or even internal inspection against Prosecutor Jin Dong-gyun in May 2015, and why was he simply allowed to resign? Why was everyone silent then?"

He added, "Now that public criticism of these incidents has accumulated, the truth has been revealed, and finally guilty verdicts have been handed down, is there no self-reflection or criticism of the investigation leaders and command lines at the time?" He criticized, "Do you still believe that all these decisions were made 'according to law and principle,' and do you still uphold the myth that the prosecution is an infallible organization?"

Former Minister Cho emphasized, "Besides these three cases, there are many similar cases. Once the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) is launched, all must be uncovered."

He also questioned, "Why was there no backlash but rather respectful acceptance of numerous unofficial investigative directives issued by former Ministers of Justice or Senior Secretaries for Civil Affairs who came from the prosecution, calling it 'guidance from senior predecessors,' yet when a non-prosecution background Minister of Justice appointed during the Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in administrations issued official directives to correct problems in prosecution investigations, is it only then that 'prosecutorial chaos' is mentioned?"

He further asked, "What is the reason for the behavior of selective investigation, selective prosecution, selective obedience, and selective resistance?" and said, "I want to pose these questions also to the media that only report in defense of the prosecution."