[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] On the 6th, Park Beom-gye, Minister of Justice, expressed concern that the achievements of the 'prosecutorial reform' carried out during the Moon Jae-in administration could be reversed under the new government as he left the Ministry of Justice.
That afternoon, Minister Park stated in his farewell address, "I sincerely hope that the achievements made so far will not backslide."
Minister Park emphasized the achievements so far, saying, "We have established a new criminal justice system that meets the public's expectations," and "We planted the seeds of a prosecutorial organizational culture that values human rights and due process, and through organizational restructuring, we aimed to establish the role of the prosecution as a protector of human rights."
He continued, "I hope an organizational culture will take root where prosecutors with diverse thoughts and expertise are fairly evaluated and selected," adding, "That is the remaining task of prosecutorial reform that I could not accomplish."
Earlier, at the Ministry of Justice Government Gwacheon Complex, he told reporters, "When I took office, I volunteered to be the 'closing pitcher' for prosecutorial reform, but I could not finish it," and "Prosecutorial reform is an ongoing process." "We have made various efforts to improve the prosecutorial organizational culture, and in fact, it was clearly improving in many aspects," he self-assessed, adding, "Personnel and organizational restructuring, revision of regulations prohibiting disclosure of criminal cases, and other changes were made, and I felt the resulting changes in the prosecution."
Minister Park pointed out that the improved prosecutorial organizational culture under the current government shows signs of reverting to the past, citing the 'Industrial Department Blacklist Investigation' by the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office as an example. He said, "It was a very fast, broad, and one-sided investigation," implying that the prosecution conducted investigations targeting the current government immediately after the presidential election.
Regarding the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's pledge to abolish the Blue House Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs and entrust personnel screening functions to the Ministry of Justice, he criticized, "Among the 18 ministries, is it appropriate for the Ministry of Justice to screen the cabinet members of other ministries? I have doubts," and "It could be constitutionally problematic."
When asked by reporters to "give yourself a score," he replied, "It is fortunate just to have endured so much," and "I cannot give myself a generous score." Additionally, he mentioned, "I will return to the National Assembly and strive to complete the prosecutorial reform that I could not finish," and "I hope the prosecution will continue autonomous changes centered on moderate and rational prosecutors."
After the farewell ceremony, Minister Park returned to the National Assembly. He served as a sitting member of the National Assembly while holding the ministerial position. Shortly after taking office, he visited the Seoul Eastern Detention Center, where a COVID-19 outbreak occurred, more than 100 times to address issues on-site, and worked to revitalize other departments and bureaus that had been relatively neglected due to the focus on the prosecution bureau. He also led efforts to ensure the stable domestic settlement of special contributors from Afghanistan.
At the same time, Minister Park positioned himself as the 'closing pitcher' of prosecutorial reform and confronted the prosecution throughout his term. Regarding the first prosecutorial personnel appointment after his inauguration in February last year, he carried it out without delivering the personnel plan to then Prosecutor General Yoon, causing internal backlash. A month later, he exercised his authority to order a reinvestigation related to allegations of witness tampering by the investigation team of former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook. Recently, during the 'Complete Removal of Prosecutorial Investigation Rights (Geomsu Wanbak)' phase, he expressed support several times for the compromise plan prepared by the National Assembly.
With Minister Park's departure, the Ministry of Justice is expected to be operated temporarily under the acting leadership of Deputy Minister Kang Seong-guk. Han Dong-hoon, Deputy Director of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, has been nominated as the successor and the first Minister of Justice under the new government. Han is scheduled for a confirmation hearing at the National Assembly on the 9th.
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