Ministry of Justice and Prosecution Clash Over 'Special Activity Funds'
Criticism Arises That They Focus Only on Political Strife, Ignoring Public Welfare
Experts Warn "There Is Public Fatigue"
The conflict between Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae (left) and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl (right) continues day after day, with ongoing debates regarding the payment of special activity expenses by the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution. Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy reporters Seunggon Han and Seulgi Kim] As the political conflict surrounding Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl continues day after day, there are criticisms that they are neglecting the livelihood of the people.
In particular, recently, the ruling and opposition parties have been engaged in political disputes over special activity expense data for each institution, leading to public fatigue over the conflict between Minister Choo and Prosecutor General Yoon. Experts pointed out that the continuation of such political strife inevitably results in public fatigue as well as neglect of the people's livelihood.
On the 9th, members of the ruling and opposition parties on the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee visited the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, to conduct an on-site verification of the special activity expense details of the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. The ruling and opposition parties presented different claims, showing a significant divergence in perspectives over the same data.
The opposition criticized the Ministry of Justice's special activity expense data as insufficient. Jang Je-won, a member of the People Power Party, wrote on his Facebook on the day, "This is a bland, opaque verification. The Ministry of Justice's special activity expenses are a one-month spending sample from 2018, and there is no spending detail at all, only a file with the amount written. It's absurd," pointing out the Ministry of Justice's insufficient data submission.
On the other hand, the ruling party stated that there was no problem with the Ministry of Justice's data. Baek Hye-ryun, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "The Ministry of Justice and Supreme Prosecutors' Office data were at the same level," adding, "In fact, the Ministry of Justice had detailed records, but the Supreme Prosecutors' Office only had data by each prosecution office without detailed records," arguing that the Supreme Prosecutors' Office data was insufficient.
She continued, "The details of the special activity expenses personally used by Prosecutor General Yoon were not specified," and added, "Minister Choo submitted (the usage details), and it was confirmed that no special activity expenses were used this year."
Regarding this, Kim Do-eup, the opposition party's secretary of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and a member of the People Power Party, after the on-site verification, told reporters, "When using special activity expenses, the expenditure cause statement, expenditure resolution, and execution content confirmation are the principles to verify the expenses, and all of these were included in the data submitted by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office," defending the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's data submission.
Summarizing the situation, the ruling and opposition lawmakers reached different conclusions interpreting the Ministry of Justice and Supreme Prosecutors' Office data. Since there are differences in interpretation over the same data, this is why the political conflict surrounding Minister Choo and Prosecutor General Yoon is flowing again.
Kim Do-eup, the secretary of the People Power Party belonging to the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, and Assemblyman Jo Su-jin, among others, are entering the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 9th to conduct an on-site verification of the special activity expenses execution details of the prosecution and the Ministry of Justice by the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee. Photo by Yonhap News.
The political conflict surrounding Minister Choo and Prosecutor General Yoon is not the first time. Especially during the recent Legislation and Judiciary Committee's national audit, there were criticisms that both ruling and opposition parties were so absorbed in the conflict between the two that there was a lack of policy inquiries for the people's livelihood.
Voices criticizing this have also emerged within the political sphere. Hong Jun-pyo, an independent lawmaker, wrote on his Facebook on the morning of the 9th, "Every time I wake up, the minister and the prosecutor general are fighting like children, pushing aside the already difficult livelihood issues," criticizing the situation.
Former Justice Party lawmaker Park Won-seok also pointed out, "The public is very concerned about this situation."
In an interview with YTN Radio's 'Hwang Bo-seon's Morning Start' on the same day, former lawmaker Park said, "Especially as the rounds continue?second, third, fourth rounds?how appropriate is it for the two pillars representing Korea's public authority and legal administration to keep showing conflict and confrontation? I think both are wrong to expose such behavior in front of the public," criticizing the ongoing conflict.
Experts expressed concerns that such a situation creates unnecessary political strife and causes public fatigue.
Political commentator Lee Jong-hoon said, "The conflict between Minister Choo and Prosecutor General Yoon is becoming prolonged. Although their conflict is unrelated to livelihood issues, it is not entirely unrelated to the lives of the people," adding, "There is naturally a possibility of causing fatigue among the public. There is concern that livelihood issues are being set aside for too long."
Meanwhile, according to a survey, the positive evaluation of the job performance of Minister Choo and Prosecutor General Yoon, who have been clashing continuously, has declined simultaneously.
According to a survey conducted by Gallup Korea, a public opinion research firm, targeting 1,001 adults aged 18 and over from the 27th to 28th of last month (sampling error ±3.1%P, 95% confidence level), the positive job approval ratings for Minister Choo and Prosecutor General Yoon were 23% and 39%, respectively, while the negative ratings were 56% and 44%, respectively.
In a survey conducted three months earlier, during the first week of July (June 30 to July 2), Minister Choo's positive job approval rating was 40%, and Prosecutor General Yoon's was 43%.
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