Minister of Justice Park Sungjae stated that he is "not involved" regarding the resignation of the prosecutor who directly investigated him in connection with the 12·3 Martial Law Incident.
On the afternoon of May 2, Minister Park attended an emergency inquiry session of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee. In response to a question from Jang Kyungtae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, who asked, "Did you exert outside pressure through any channels to make the prosecutor resign?" Park replied, "I do not know which channels you are referring to, but if anyone else was involved, please let me know."
According to the legal community, Prosecutor Nam from the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office posted a resignation letter on the internal network, Epros, on April 29.
In his letter, Prosecutor Nam wrote, "I have received much guidance and help from senior, fellow, and junior prosecutors," and added, "The work that involves decisions, judgments, and responsibility has been lonely and difficult, but I was able to get through it safely because of colleagues who shared and empathized with my concerns in similar situations."
He continued, "Although it is only right to personally say farewell to each and every one of you whom I have come to know and learned from while working together, I feel somewhat ashamed and must instead offer my farewell through this letter. Now, I intend to leave the position of prosecutor and set out in search of a new path in the wilderness. Wherever I am, I will always support the prosecution."
Prosecutor Nam was dispatched to the Special Investigation Headquarters for Martial Law, which was established after the 12·3 Martial Law Incident on December 3 last year. He was reportedly in charge of investigating the insurrection case and summoned Minister Park as a suspect to question him about the circumstances of the Cabinet meeting.
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