"Taking Away the Sword and Giving the Pen"
On the 13th, Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, and members of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held an emergency press briefing at the National Assembly in Yeouido regarding the Democratic Party's ongoing push for 'Geomsu Wanbak' (complete removal of prosecutorial investigation rights). Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@
[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Kwon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party, introduced on the 14th that President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol had nominated Han Dong-hoon as Minister of Justice from the early stages of the transition committee's launch. He explained that this was not a retaliatory measure in response to the Democratic Party's decision to forcibly pass the 'complete removal of prosecution's investigative authority (Geomsu Wanbak)'.
On the same day, Floor Leader Kwon said on KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs' regarding the timing of Han's nomination, "From the president-elect's side, I heard that around the time the transition committee was being formed and ministerial appointments were beginning, it was already said that the Minister of Justice would be Han Dong-hoon."
He said, "The reason seems to be that since Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon exercising investigative authority would lead to various claims from the Democratic Party about political retaliation or political oppression, it was judged that the purity of prosecution investigations could be compromised." He added, "Also, the Democratic Party said that sending him as head of departments directly conducting investigations, such as the Seoul Chief Prosecutor or Prosecutor General, was not acceptable. So, considering such claims from the Democratic Party and to prevent new controversies, in fact, the sword was taken away and the pen was given."
Floor Leader Kwon said, "The Minister of Justice is in charge of legal administration, and President-elect Yoon believes that the Minister of Justice should not exercise or have the authority to direct investigations over the prosecution, so the investigative directive authority cannot be exercised." He added, "Considering that political oppression claims do not arise, I understand that the nomination was made early."
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