Handonghun "Jeong Sunsin Incident, Responsibility as Superior in Personnel Information Unit"

Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon is speaking at the Civil, Party, and Government Council on Measures to Respond to Serious Financial Crimes Affecting People's Livelihoods and Financial Relief Measures held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 28th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Han Dong-hoon, Minister of Justice, said he "basically feels a sense of responsibility" regarding the downfall of lawyer Jeong Soon-shin, who had been appointed as the head of the National Investigation Headquarters (hereafter NIS).

On the afternoon of the 28th, Minister Han responded to reporters' questions at the National Assembly asking, 'As Jeong and you were classmates in the Judicial Examination and Judicial Research and Training Institute, did you really not know about the allegations related to his son's school violence?' by saying, "I did not know either. Since we were not in the same department doing the same work nor did we have a personal relationship, what could I do about not knowing?"

Regarding opposition party criticisms claiming "personnel screening failure" and "ministerial responsibility," Minister Han explained, "The primary objective screening is conducted by the Personnel Information Management Group, and other agencies also manage it," but added, "It is true that as the superior, I bear a sense of responsibility."

However, when asked, 'So, if there is something to be held accountable for after investigation, will you take responsibility?' he drew a line by saying, "No." He said, "It seems it was indeed difficult to grasp structurally. With the current system, such incidents are likely to recur," and added, "Although that is the result, it happened within the institution I oversee, and since the public has many concerns, shouldn't I naturally feel a political sense of responsibility?"

Regarding Police Commissioner Yoon Hee-geun’s statement the previous day at the National Assembly Intelligence Committee that the police had not received any related information from the Ministry of Justice, Minister Han said, "Personnel screening involves multiple stages, so it is not a matter of passing responsibility from one to another." He added, "Whether it is the police's reputation or the Ministry of Justice’s primary objective and mechanical screening, after reviewing the situation later, it seems it was not properly filtered at several stages."

Minister Han said, "Structurally, with the current system, it seems difficult to filter these cases, so I will prepare institutional supplements," and added, "I will work more diligently with a sense of responsibility."