Citizen Group "Park Beom-gye Should Resign Over Property Report Omission and Samsung Collusion Allegations"

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Civic groups have raised allegations of habitual property declaration omissions against Park Beom-gye, the nominee for Minister of Justice, and have called for his resignation.

The Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) and Economic Democracy 21 issued a statement on the 26th, saying, "Nominee Park is facing multiple allegations of violating the Public Officials Ethics Act," adding, "Whether the omissions were due to simple mistakes or intentional acts requires thorough investigation, but regardless of the outcome, he should be considered unqualified as a nominee for Minister of Justice, who must uphold law and justice."

They also claimed, "Nominee Park is a figure whose name appeared in the so-called 'Jang Chung-gi notebook' during the investigation of the state power abuse case, raising suspicions of collusion with Samsung."

The civic groups stated, "The Minister of Justice holds a position that can exert direct and significant influence over Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics, who was recently sentenced to prison," adding, "The Minister of Justice has the authority to recommend special pardons or decide on parole, and also has the power to lift the ban on Lee's employment at Samsung affiliates."

They continued, "Considering these points, the Minister of Justice should be someone capable of making fair and transparent decisions in relation to Samsung, but Nominee Park cannot be seen as such a person," and added, "Therefore, our civic groups, which have pursued fair economy and chaebol reform, urge Nominee Park to resign and call for a thorough investigation by the National Assembly's Public Officials Committee and the National Assembly Ethics Committee regarding the allegations of violating the Public Officials Ethics Act."