President-elect Yoon Nominates Han Dong-hoon as Minister of Justice... "Not a Radical Appointment"
Han Dong-hoon: "Will Not Exercise Investigation Control Rights... Realized the Harm of Choo and Park Beom-gye"
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol nominated Han Dong-hoon, Deputy Director of the Judicial Research and Training Institute (Chief Prosecutor), as the Minister of Justice candidate on the 13th. Han is a representative 'specialized prosecutor' and is considered a close aide in the prosecution organization known as the 'Yoon Seok-yeol faction.'
At 2 p.m. on the same day at the transition committee press conference in Tongui-dong, Seoul, President-elect Yoon explained the background of Han's appointment, saying, "He has held key positions in the Ministry of Justice and prosecution for 20 years, accumulating expertise in investigation, trial, prosecution system, and legal administration." He added, "I judged him to be the right person to modernize legal administration and establish a judicial system that meets global standards."
President-elect Yoon also said of Han, "He is the optimal candidate to handle legal administration not only in law enforcement but also through planning tasks in prosecution and legal administration," emphasizing, "This is not an unprecedented appointment."
Han passed the 37th Judicial Examination and was commissioned as a prosecutor at the Seoul District Prosecutors' Office in 2001. He quickly stood out for his outstanding investigative skills and has a deep connection with President-elect Yoon.
Han worked with Yoon starting from the 2003 Supreme Prosecutors' Office Central Investigation Department's election fund investigation team, the 2006 Hyundai Motor investigation team of the Central Investigation Department, and the 2016 Special Prosecutor's Office for the state affairs manipulation scandal.
From 2017 to 2019, he served as the 3rd Deputy Chief Prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, and from July 2019, as the Head of the Anti-Corruption and Violence Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, assisting Yoon.
However, Han was sidelined when former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk's family investigation took place and former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae took office. He was effectively demoted to non-investigative departments four times in a row, not even completing six months as Head of the Anti-Corruption and Violence Department.
In January 2020, he moved to the position of Deputy Chief Prosecutor at the Busan High Prosecutors' Office, then served as a research fellow at the Yongin branch of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, followed by the main Jincheon branch, and has been serving as Deputy Director of the Judicial Research and Training Institute since June last year.
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is answering questions from the press as he arrives at the Presidential Transition Committee office in Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 13th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Earlier, during the presidential campaign in February, President-elect Yoon said in an interview with a media outlet, "Chief Prosecutor A is someone who has worked almost like an independence activist," adding, "(The argument that Chief Prosecutor A should not become the head of the Central District Prosecutors' Office) is the same logic as saying that someone who fought for independence during the Japanese colonial period should not hold a major government position because Japan would dislike it." At the time, there was speculation that Chief Prosecutor A referred to Han.
Meanwhile, with Han nominated as the first Minister of Justice candidate of the 'Yoon Seok-yeol government,' strong opposition from the political sphere, centered on the Democratic Party of Korea, is expected.
Han told reporters on the day regarding the so-called 'complete removal of prosecution's investigative authority' (검수완박) controversy, "If the bill passes, the public will suffer greatly, so attempts to pass the bill must be blocked."
Regarding President-elect Yoon's pledge to abolish the Minister of Justice's investigative command authority, Han said, "It is a promise made by the president-elect, and I also deeply felt the harm caused by the abuse of investigative command authority during the tenures of former Ministers Park Beom-gye and Choo Mi-ae," adding, "Even if I take office, I will not exercise investigative command authority over specific cases."
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