Minister of Justice nominee Han Dong-hoon is attending the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 9th, responding to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@
[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] As the saying goes, "A famous feast has nothing to eat," it ended blandly. This is about the confirmation hearing of Han Dong-hoon, the nominee for Minister of Justice.
Han was the figure who attracted more attention than any other first cabinet nominee appointed by President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol during his transition period.
He is a former special prosecutor who is most antagonized even within the prosecution by the now-opposition Democratic Party members, and after being nominated as minister, he strongly criticized the Democratic Party’s forced passage of the ‘complete prosecution reform’ bill as a ‘midnight escape,’ making him the opposition’s ‘No. 1 target for dismissal.’
He is also a close aide of President Yoon, having worked together from the ‘Choi Soon-sil Special Prosecutor Team,’ which was the turning point for the Moon Jae-in administration, through the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office and the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office.
The hearing, which started at 10 a.m. on the 9th, ended at 3:31 a.m. on the 10th after 17 hours and 30 minutes.
Excluding the morning hours lost over ‘document submission’ issues and apologies for the use of the term ‘complete prosecution reform’ in Han’s opening remarks, the two-hour lunch break, the questioning time for four witnesses, and recesses, Han was intensely questioned for at least 10 hours.
The conclusion was a complete victory for Han. It was surprising that the Democratic Party’s ‘No. 1 dismissal target’ did not face any decisive blow, piercing sharpness, or dramatic reversal. In legal circles, evaluations such as “Han was given an opportunity for counterattack and explanation” and “He was effectively promoted” were made.
Democratic Party hearing committee members asked numerous questions about Han’s ▲children’s theses and awards used to build credentials ▲real estate-related suspicions such as apartment gifts and tax evasion ▲hundreds of phone calls with First Lady Kim Keon-hee ▲investigation process of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk ▲Channel A incident, but these did not go beyond the level of suspicions already reported in the media.
No new allegations were raised, nor were there additional revelations supporting existing suspicions. Because there was no ‘decisive blow,’ there was no sight of a ‘bowed candidate’ or a ‘candidate drinking water’ either.
Perhaps the expected result became reality. Even before the hearing, the ruling party and prosecution circles quietly hoped that opposition members would struggle against Han’s eloquence. Han, who passed the bar exam as a prodigy while attending Seoul National University Law School and was reputed to be intelligent even within the prosecution, was expected to fend off any attacks from opposition members well.
On the other hand, many expected sharp attacks from the opposition as various allegations related to Han’s children and real estate surfaced before the hearing. Moreover, the hearing schedule, originally set for four days, was postponed to the 9th, giving opposition members time to collect and study sufficient materials to attack Han.
However, when the hearing actually began, Han’s shield was strong, while the Democratic Party members’ spearheads were blunt. Throughout the hearing, similar questions and answers were repeated without any special tension.
In legal circles, it was analyzed that one of the Democratic Party’s mistakes was trying to forcibly apply the case of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, who was accused of forging certificates for his children’s university admissions, to Han’s children-related allegations.
The real spectacle was provided by the Democratic Party members and witnesses.
Committee member Choi Kang-wook attacked the allegation that Han’s daughter donated a laptop to a welfare facility and embarrassed himself by referring to ‘Yeongri Corporation Han**,’ meaning ‘Korea’s 3M,’ as if it were Han’s daughter.
Committee member Kim Nam-guk, during questioning about Han’s daughter’s thesis-related allegations, mistakenly referred to the ‘aunt professor’ who was the corresponding author of a thesis written by a nephew on Han’s wife’s side as Han’s daughter’s ‘aunt,’ later admitting his mistake. Kim also asked Han if he knew the concept of the ‘Garrity rule,’ criticized Han’s answer as wrong, but Han then pointed out that the Hankyoreh article Kim cited was misquoted.
Judge-turned-committee member Lee Soo-jin was visibly flustered when Han rebutted her example of U.S. legislative cases related to prosecutors’ investigation and prosecution rights by saying, “I know well because I studied in the U.S.” Han actually completed an LL.M. at Columbia Law School in 2004 and obtained a New York State Bar license the following year.
Later, when Lee said, “The Minister of Justice is not a position for the prosecution organization. Keep that in mind,” Han replied, “I will take it to heart,” which suddenly made Lee exclaim, “What did you say? Are you being sarcastic?” Laughter broke out throughout the hearing room, and Lee shouted again, “Why are you giggling and laughing at my question?”
Committee member Min Hyung-bae, who had defected from the Democratic Party with an obvious intention to neutralize the agenda adjustment committee ahead of the ‘complete prosecution reform’ bill review, got angry at People Power Party member Jo Soo-jin’s ‘fake defection’ remark, requested three minutes of procedural speech time, and showed a disgraceful scene by demanding, “Who promised you (Democratic Party) reinstatement?”
The hearing included witnesses such as Han Dong-soo, head of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office Inspection Department, currently a prosecutor; Im Eun-jung, inspection officer at the Ministry of Justice; Park Young-jin, chief prosecutor at Uijeongbu District Prosecutors’ Office; and accountant Kim Kyung-yul. As expected, Han Dong-soo and Im Eun-jung, nominated by the Democratic Party, and Park Young-jin and Kim Kyung-yul, nominated by the People Power Party, consistently gave answers aligned with their respective parties’ wishes.
In particular, accountant Kim made ‘deliberate remarks’ attacking the Moon Jae-in administration and the Democratic Party, causing Democratic Party members to shout loudly.
At around 3:27 a.m. on the 10th, Han, with a relaxed expression, gave his closing remarks, saying, “This was a precious opportunity to reflect on my past public service and to prepare my future attitude,” and “If given the chance to serve as Minister of Justice, I will heed the committee members’ detailed advice and devote myself to establishing the rule of law based on justice and common sense.”
Although the hearing lasted two days, no conclusion was reached on whether to adopt the confirmation hearing report on Han. The Democratic Party stated that they would decide after reviewing additional evidence Han submitted by that morning, and Park Kwang-on, chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, declared a recess in preparation for the possibility of an additional meeting.
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