[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Han Dong-hoon, the nominee for Minister of Justice, posted on the prosecution's internal network 'Eprose' on the 15th, stating, "I was subjected to an obsession close to madness and lynching, but I fought with facts and common sense as my weapons," expressing his thoughts on leaving the prosecution. It is known that he is likely to be appointed as Minister of Justice after going through the appointment process earlier this week. The post on the internal network appears to be effectively a resignation letter.
Han said, "It was never easy, but I wanted to provide answers that align with justice and common sense," adding, "I liked this profession because the standard of work was justice and common sense."
He also recalled, "The stronger the opponent with political or economic power, the more I focused only on that and was never swayed by external pressure or requests. Thanks to that, I was often called rude since my early days as a prosecutor."
Han emphasized, "Not all the things I did were necessarily correct, but if I gave wrong answers, it was due to my lack of ability, not a lack of will for fairness or justice."
He continued, "Over the past few years, I was lynched by power for investigating my own side, but eventually the falsehood and reality of that were revealed," adding, "When I thought that if power treats me like this, many weaker people must have been unfairly treated, I found strength."
He said, "When someone asked me 'Why do you stay?' I answered, 'Because there is still work to do in the prosecution,'" and added, "The work is to create a precedent where a public official who does the right thing is lynched by power but does not compromise or surrender and wins within the system."
He went on, "More than the noisy cases I handled, the people I worked with come to mind," and concluded, "I am a boring person, so I couldn’t express my feelings at the time. I was glad to work with good people. I also thank those I couldn’t work with due to lack of connection."
President Yoon Suk-yeol requested the National Assembly on the 13th to resubmit Han’s confirmation report by the 16th. Earlier, the National Assembly held Han’s confirmation hearing on the 9th but failed to adopt the report due to unresolved differences between the ruling and opposition parties.
If the National Assembly does not send the confirmation report by the 16th, President Yoon is expected to push through Han’s appointment within this week. According to the Confirmation Hearing Act, if the National Assembly misses the deadline for adopting the report, the president can request resubmission within ten days, and if the report is not submitted by then, the president can proceed with the minister’s appointment.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
