Attorney Kim Jong-min is giving a lecture on the issues of establishing the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials and future tasks at the Future United Party (now People Power Party) study group 'Geumsijjomun' held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on July 17. Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-eun] Kim Jong-min, a lawyer and former member of the Prosecutor Reform Committee during the early Moon Jae-in administration, criticized Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae on the 29th, saying, "While Chu Mi-ae was obsessed with ousting Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol and incapacitating the prosecution under the guise of prosecutorial reform, Dongbu Detention Center has become a COVID-19 hell, yet she still hasn't come to her senses."
On the same day, Kim said on his Facebook, "This is because after Chu Mi-ae's staged visit to Dongbu Detention Center today, she immediately condemned the court's ruling on Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, committing an unimaginable outrage by denying the rule of law and judicial system as the Minister of Justice."
Kim stated, "Our correctional facilities are extremely poor, and especially the issue of overcrowding has long been pointed out but shows no signs of resolution. It was predictable that COVID-19 infections would explode in such correctional environments, and the Minister of Justice, as the person ultimately responsible for correctional administration, should have naturally checked the site and taken proactive measures."
He continued, "In emergencies like COVID-19, unlike usual times, parole should have been proactively used to alleviate overcrowding and prevent the worst-case scenario where the entire correctional facility, like Dongbu Detention Center, becomes a COVID-19 hell. Over the past year, aside from visiting juvenile detention centers and receiving New Year's bows from innocent inmates, I don't know what Chu Mi-ae has done as the Minister of Justice, the highest authority in correctional administration," he criticized.
Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is visiting Seoul Eastern Detention Center on the 29th to receive a report on the current status related to the COVID-19 outbreak. Photo by Yonhap News
Additionally, Kim said, "Even now, it is necessary to make a criminal policy decision to boldly release non-serious inmates detained in correctional facilities nationwide through parole or cancellation of detention, and to greatly expand conditional bail with electronic anklets in consultation with the Court Administration," adding, "The Minister of Justice should push this forward with speed, but Chu Mi-ae, who has been crazily rampaging for a year to oust Yoon Seok-yeol, has ruined everything."
He further stated, "Since there have been deaths due to COVID-19 at Dongbu Detention Center, shouldn't a lawsuit for damages be filed against Chu Mi-ae and the Ministry of Justice? How many more inmates in correctional facilities must die before they come to their senses?" and sharply asked, "I ask Moon Jae-in, which comes first, people or what?"
Earlier, Minister Chu visited the site for the first time on the afternoon of the 29th at Dongbu Detention Center in Seoul after a large-scale outbreak of COVID-19 occurred. After visiting the detention center, she posted on her Facebook, "The court judged that the disciplinary committee's recusation resolution did not meet the quorum, but it is hard to accept such a claim by the court," opposing the court's decision to reinstate Prosecutor General Yoon.
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