Justice Minister Park Beomgye: "Indictment Must Not Be Disclosed Before First Trial... It's a Matter of Principle"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy, Reporter Kim Hyungmin] Minister of Justice Park Beomgye once again emphasized that "the indictment cannot be disclosed before the first trial" in relation to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), which is in conflict with the prosecution over the investigation into the alleged leak of the indictment of Seoul High Prosecutors' Office Chief Lee Sungyun.

On the morning of December 8, as he arrived at the Ministry of Justice in Gwacheon, Minister Park stated, "Regardless of whether (disclosing the indictment) constitutes a crime or not, it is a matter of principle." He added, "It is inappropriate for some prosecutors who are not even in charge of the investigation to comment on the matter."

Minister Park further emphasized, "Whether (the leak of the indictment) constitutes a crime or not is primarily for the CIO, which is conducting the investigation, to determine," and reiterated that "disclosure of the indictment should be done in court, as any unilateral disclosure is inappropriate."

It appears that Minister Park was reiterating the position he posted on his social media account the previous day. He shared an MBC report criticizing the leak of indictments and wrote, "The problem arises because indictments for specific cases are selectively leaked," and warned, "We must be wary of attempts to justify investigations through so-called public opinion campaigns." This was in response to prosecutors who criticized the CIO's forced investigation, arguing that leaking an indictment is unlikely to constitute a crime under the law.

Minister Park also commented on Prosecutor General Kim Ohsoo's decision not to give an immediate answer to a request from the former Suwon District Prosecutors' Office investigation team to clarify his position on the CIO's investigation, saying, "He responded appropriately and took the right stance."

At a senior prosecutors' meeting the previous day, Prosecutor General Kim stated, "Expressing a position on investigations being conducted by other state agencies with court-issued warrants, or on the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's internal inspection, which is granted autonomy under current regulations, could be seen as interfering in investigations or inspections, so I must be cautious."

Regarding Prosecutor General Kim's comment that "everything will ultimately return to its proper course" (saying "Sabilguijeong," meaning all things return to justice), Minister Park remarked, "We will have to wait and see, but if there is no wrongdoing, there will be no problem."

Meanwhile, when asked about the possibility of pardoning former presidents Lee Myungbak and Park Geunhye, Minister Park refrained from commenting, saying, "That is the exclusive authority of the president," but added, "A pardon review committee meeting will be held soon."