Justice Minister Jeong Seongho: "Not Sure if Daejang-dong Appeal Is Warranted"

Minister Jeong: "Daejang-dong Case Was a Successful Investigation and Trial... Sentence Exceeded Prosecution's Recommendation"
"Says No Connection to President Lee... No Court Ruling on Separate Indictment"

On the 10th, Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho expressed his stance regarding the abandonment of the Daejang-dong appeal on his way to the Ministry of Justice building in Gwacheon.

Regarding the prosecution leadership's decision to abandon the appeal in the Daejang-dong development corruption case, Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho stated, "It is not desirable for the prosecution to be obsessed with this case."

On the morning of the 10th, on his way to the Government Complex Gwacheon, Minister Jung met with reporters and said, "From the perspective of justice and fairness, I am not sure if this case is subject to appeal," adding, "The sentence handed down was even heavier than what the prosecution had requested."

He continued, "I heard there were problems during the investigation process, particularly allegations of illegal investigation or coercion. In the end, one of the parties involved made a very significant revelation in court," and added, "If there was a threat as serious as 'cutting open one's stomach,' who would not cooperate under such circumstances?"

Minister Jung also questioned what relevance this case has to President Lee Jaemyung. He said, "President Lee was separately indicted and his trial is ongoing but currently suspended, while other related parties are being tried separately. With regard to this trial, the court has never made any ruling related to the president."

Minister Jung further stated that the investigation and trial of the Daejang-dong case were successful. He said, "In principle, I believe it was a successful investigation and a successful trial," adding, "A sentence even higher than what the prosecution requested was handed down, and the sentence exceeded the sentencing guidelines that serve as the prosecution's standard for appeal."

Regarding whether the Ministry of Justice gave any instructions or guidelines to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, he said, "I have received various reports, but I have never given any guidelines," and added, "I only expressed that a rational decision should be made after considering various factors."

He also explained, "Typically, in important cases, the Ministry of Justice receives reports through the prosecution. After receiving the sentencing result, I initially told them to carefully and independently consider whether to appeal," and added, "When the Supreme Prosecutors' Office reported to me for the second time, since the sentence was higher than the prosecution's request, I determined there was no legal issue."

Minister Jung revealed that, regarding the appeal in the Daejang-dong development corruption case, he received a report from a frontline department on the 7th that they intended to appeal, and he asked for a comprehensive judgment. He said, "Ultimately, on Friday (the 7th), the deadline for appeal, when the Supreme Prosecutors' Office said the frontline department intended to appeal, I asked them to make a comprehensive and careful decision," and added, "That afternoon, (private businessman) Nam Wook gave a rather shocking testimony that 'the prosecutor threatened to cut open his stomach.' I judged that if the case continued, it would become an even more political issue."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.