Park Beom-gye "No Connection Between Chief Prosecutor Appointment and Lee Seong-yoon Review Committee"

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Park Beom-gye, Minister of Justice, stated that the procedure of the Prosecutor General Candidate Recommendation Committee is not related to the request by Lee Seong-yoon, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, to convene the Investigation Deliberation Committee.

On the 23rd, Minister Park, while meeting with reporters on his way to the Government Complex Gwacheon, said, "This recommendation committee meeting is a schedule where one procedure ends and naturally connects to the next procedure," adding, "There is absolutely no correlation with the events happening on the front lines."

This statement was made in response to various interpretations arising because Lee's request for the deliberation committee and the Ministry of Justice's announcement of the Prosecutor General Candidate Recommendation Committee schedule were released around the same time the previous day.

Regarding the possibility of Chief Prosecutor Lee being included among the candidates, Minister Park said, "It is difficult to say who the candidates are," and added, "I believe the recommendation committee members will freely discuss and narrow down the candidates." However, he mentioned that the criteria for the next Prosecutor General appointment would have "a strong correlation with the President's national governance philosophy."

On the possibility of appointing a non-prosecutorial figure, he drew a line by saying, "Revealing my inner thoughts could influence the recommendation committee," and "Since the recommendation committee operates with complete independence and I propose the candidate once the list is narrowed down, it is not appropriate for me to comment."

Additionally, regarding reports on the disciplinary procedures by the Ministry of Justice against prosecutors suspected of receiving alcohol entertainment from former Star Mobility Chairman Kim Bong-hyun, he mentioned that there are no separate plans for an inspection. Earlier, Minister Park had stated that the report of investigation details related to former Vice Minister Kim in a specific media outlet constituted disclosure of suspect facts and that he would verify the truth.