Justice Minister Jeong Seongho Says He Is Ready to Accept Any Decision by the National Assembly on Special Prosecutor or Parliamentary Probe

On Resignation Demands: "Resigning Would Be Even More Irresponsible"

Minister of Justice Jeong Seongho stated that he is prepared to accept any decision made by the National Assembly regarding calls for a special prosecutor or a parliamentary investigation in response to the prosecution's decision not to appeal the Daejang-dong case verdict. He rejected demands for his resignation, calling them "irresponsible."

Jeong Seongho, Minister of Justice, is attending the plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Budget and Accounts Committee on the 13th. 2025.11.13 Photo by Kim Hyunmin

On November 13, during the plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, Jeong made these remarks in response to Park Hyungsoo, a member of the People Power Party, who asked, "If you truly believe there was no wrongdoing, as you have said, shouldn't you be calling for a special prosecutor or a parliamentary investigation to uncover the facts?"

Minister Jeong argued that his instruction to the prosecution to "make a careful judgment" regarding the appeal was merely an opinion. When Assemblyman Park pointed out, "The prosecution submitted an appeal opinion again on the 7th, following the one on the 6th. If you keep telling them to make a careful judgment, isn't that essentially telling them not to appeal?" Jeong replied, "Of course, I can understand how it could be interpreted that way by those receiving the instruction."

He added, however, "During that process, I hoped the prosecution would make its own judgment based on its authority and responsibility, rather than simply following the minister's directive. If they had exercised their own careful judgment, this would not have become a problematic case."

When Kim Sangwook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, asked whether there was any possibility that Acting Prosecutor General Noh Manseok, who resigned over this case, might have misunderstood the minister's instructions, Jeong responded, "Generally, when the minister or a superior says to make a careful judgment, it is common for the person to make their own inference and decision."

Regarding the resignation demands from the People Power Party, Jeong dismissed them, saying, "It would be even more irresponsible to resign over the issue of whether or not to appeal an individual case. With so many ongoing issues related to prosecution reform, it would be difficult to step down at this time."

When Assemblyman Jeong Jeomsik of the People Power Party asked, "If, as the government and ruling party argue, the crime of breach of trust is abolished, how could civil lawsuits seek damages for criminal proceeds if breach of trust is no longer considered an illegal act in civil litigation?" Minister Jeong replied, "Although the abolition of the breach of trust crime is being discussed, there is not even a properly drafted bill yet." He added, "What I can say clearly is that there will certainly be transitional provisions for cases already under trial. We are working to categorize the various types and to ensure that there are no gaps in enforcement."