There is no law that says you can't become president just because you were a prosecutor.
In other countries, it is easy to find successful cases where an appointed prosecutor turned into an elected politician.
However, it is clear that the incumbent prosecutor's appointment as a presidential candidate for a specific faction was an inappropriate precedent.
Just as it is inappropriate for a judge who advocated for judicial reform to go directly to the Blue House or to be nominated by the ruling party, it is worthy of criticism for the prosecutor general to enter the presidential election after a brief hiatus.
It was an act that jeopardized the political neutrality of the entire prosecution in that it was in a position to represent the entire prosecution organization.
Nevertheless, Yoon Seok-yeol was chosen by the people because many people judged that the pressure the government exerted on the prosecution and the prosecutor-general was unreasonable when Yoon was elected prosecutor general.
President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol has also explained to the effect that the Moon Jae-in administration had no choice but to plunge into politics to rectify the fundamental damage to the independence and neutrality of the prosecution.
If there was sincerity in these words, it is also obvious that the elected Yoon Seok-yeol, who will become the first 'President from the Prosecutor General's Office' in the history of constitutional history, should pay special attention.
This is to ensure the independence and neutrality of the prosecution service.
President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol made several promises regarding the independence of the prosecution during his time as a candidate.
He promised to abolish the justice minister's authority to lead investigations, which had become a tool that threatened the independence of prosecutors, which was exercised unusually and frequently by the Moon Jae-in administration.
There is also a promise to strengthen independence by allowing the prosecution to set up its own budget.
Although it will be necessary to review the promise from various aspects, it will not be a bad method only in terms of strengthening the independence of the prosecution.
However, in the special situation when the person who was the prosecutor general until just over a year ago became the president, the political neutrality and independence of the prosecution cannot be guaranteed by the institutional mechanism alone.
Even if the president does not directly intervene in the prosecution, the relationship between the 'President from the Prosecutor General's Office' and the prosecution is bound to be constantly questioned.
It is inevitably difficult to secure 'appearance fairness', which has been evaluated to be as important as actual fairness for justice to be enforced.
So, what the president-elect should do is as follows.
1. The term of office of the Prosecutor General shall be guaranteed.
At a press conference held on March 10, right after the election, President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol answered, "As I always say, that problem has to be addressed by the system."
It is interpreted as reiterating the meaning that it is not appropriate to provide guidelines for specific cases as long as he is a former prosecutor general but has been elected as president, and that it is a matter that must be decided independently through the system in charge of criminal justice procedures such as the prosecution and the courts. do.
However, one of the important parts of the "system" that President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol said is 'guarantee the term of office of the Prosecutor General'.
In order to guarantee the independence and political neutrality of the prosecution, which the elected president has emphasized several times, the two-year term of the prosecutor-general is explicitly guaranteed in the law.
Unless the Minister of Justice exercises the investigation command, which is extremely unusual, the system that guarantees the status of the prosecutor general, who is the only one who has the authority to command investigations across the country, is not shaken by external pressure.
Unfortunately, there have been very few presidents who have served their term since 1988, when the prosecutor general term system was introduced.
It was only 8 out of 22.
Yoon Seok-yeol was also one of the prosecutors who did not fulfill his two-year term.
The reasons for the successive prosecutor-generals failing to fulfill their terms are diverse, but there have been many cases of resignation during the regime change.
The purpose of the tenure system for the prosecutor general, which was introduced to ensure the independence of the prosecution from political power, was nullified.
The current Prosecutor General Oh-su Kim is the prosecutor-general appointed by the Moon Jae-in government.
It is clear that we cannot give a high score in relation to the investigation into the alleged development of preferential treatment in Daejang-dong since President Kim Oh-soo took office.
Nevertheless, it is not appropriate to replace Secretary General Kim Oh-soo, who is guaranteed a two-year term, unless there is a clear and obvious mistake that warrants stepping down from the Prosecutor General's office.
If the president-elect Yoon Seok-yeol, who became the "President from Prosecutor General's Office," ignores the term of the prosecutor-general appointed by the Moon Jae-in government, it would be in direct opposition to his usual argument that emphasized the "system" and the independence of the prosecution.
2. The appointment of Prosecutor Dong-Hoon Han as Chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office should be reconsidered.
The most dramatic scene in the appointment of prosecutors in the early days of the Moon Jae-in administration was the appointment of Yoon Seok-yeol as the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.
As soon as the words "Yun Seok-yeol to the Seoul Central Prosecutor's Office" came out of the mouth of the then chief of public communication at the Blue House, Yoon Young-chan, the reporters who were listening to the briefing shouted "Oh~" in surprise.
After the disappearance of the Supreme Prosecutor's Office, the importance of the Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office, who oversees most of the investigations of political-related corruption crimes, is recognized by everyone.
As President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol went directly from the chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to the Prosecutor General, the general public became more aware of the symbolism and importance.
In the first public appointment of Yoon Seok-yeol, who will become the 'President from the Prosecutor General's Office,' the position that attracts the most attention will be the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.
While the splendid return of the Yoon Seok-yeol division is expected, one person is already emerging as the '0-ranked candidate' in this position.
Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon, who was originally famous among the legal circles inside and outside the prosecution, but through the dramatic events of the past few years, has established himself as the most recognizable prosecutor among all the people except for Yoon Seok-yeol.
Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon's ability is beyond question.
Regardless of political power, judicial power, or economic power, there are probably not many prosecutors who can surpass Han Dong-hoon in terms of his experience of investigating various powerful people and his ability to lead investigations to prosecution.
Although there are arguments for and against the raging investigative style and outspoken words and actions, it is difficult to object to the evaluation that the ability to catch the 'bad guy' or 'the bad guy' is outstanding.
Those in the Moon Jae-in administration, who entrusted Han Dong-hoon to the investigation of ex-Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, as well as the special prosecutor of the National Government Nongdan Special Prosecutor's Office, will find it particularly difficult to refute.
Few people think that the four demotions suffered by Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon are fair and normal personnel.
The first demotion of Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon was made in a blitz in a situation where no suspicions were raised.
No one is unaware that Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon was leading the case involving former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, which brought the relationship between the Moon Jae-in administration and the prosecution into an irreversible situation.
It was committed after people in the Moon Jae-in administration, who criticized the Park Geun-hye administration, who demolished Prosecutor Yoon Seok-yeol, who was investigating the NIS comment case, came to power.
Investigation was conducted against Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon in connection with the allegation of attempted coercion by a Channel A reporter, but the prosecution, who tried to claim an arrest warrant, ultimately failed to prosecute Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon.
Former Channel A reporter Lee Dong-jae, who barely prosecuted, was also acquitted in the first trial.
This is also the reason why Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon's public remarks became a hot topic when he said, "It is unacceptable in a democratic country to create and cover an innocent crime. But this is exactly what this government did to me."
President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol suggested the possibility of appointing Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon as chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office during his candidacy.
In an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo on February 7, Yoon-elect was asked, 'Would you like to appoint Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon to the Seoul Central Prosecutor's Office?' "Why are you afraid of Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon? ? Nonsense," he said.
He also said, "Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon is a person who has almost acted like an independence movement," and said, "It is the same as the logic that a person who fought for independence during the Japanese colonial period should go to a major government post because Japan doesn't like it."
Nevertheless, elected Yoon Seok-yeol must reconsider appointing Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon as chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.
There are two reasons.
The first is that Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon is a self-recognized close confidant of President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol.
The second is that Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon - although not what he wanted - has been opposed to the Moon Jae-in government like an "independence movement".
The relationship between President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol and Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon is very special, both privately and publicly.
Never before has a president had this level of acquaintance with a particular prosecutor.
Most of the Korean people know for sure about the close relationship between the two.
Therefore, if Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon is appointed to the position of Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, who is directly responsible for most of the prosecution's direct investigations into corruption crimes, it is inevitably interpreted that the president's will is involved in all investigations.
Even if President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol does not actually intervene.
The so-called 'fairness of appearance' is inevitably damaged structurally.
The fact that Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon was openly opposed to the Moon Jae-in government as in the "independence movement" is also a point of concern regarding the 'fairness of appearance'.
Let's say that an incumbent judge publicly posts negative comments about a particular political force on Facebook, or publishes an article containing a strong opinion about a particular position on an issue.
(There are often judges like this these days.) However, if a person belonging to the political force that this judge criticized, or a person with a position that this judge criticized, is to be tried in the court to which this judge belongs, even if the judge Even if the trial is actually conducted fairly, will the person being tried by this judge or the person watching the trial be able to agree with the outcome?
A similar situation could occur if Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon became the chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.
In an earlier interview with JoongAng Ilbo, President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol said, "I have to.
He added, "Those who commit illegality and corruption under the Moon Jae-in regime must also be punished according to the law and according to the system." I nailed it that nothing would work.
The appointment of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office by Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon, who has been openly opposed to the people of the previous government, is not a good idea in order to ensure that "a system-dependent punishment" is achieved without the president intervening in the past government's wrongdoing, as Yoon said. It's a choice.
It is reasonable to argue that the fact that the Moon Jae-in government has been unfairly demoted and investigated cannot be a reason not to play a role in the Yun Seok-yeol administration.
Considering Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon's ability and career, it is rather natural to assume a major position in the prosecution.
However, appointing Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon as Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, the symbolic position where he exercises the most extensive and direct investigative power among the various offices of the prosecution, could undermine the independence and neutrality of the prosecution.
This is why the 'President from the Prosecutor General's Office' should reconsider.
3. It is difficult for the 'Yun Seok-Yeol Division' to monopolize personnel.
Previously, only the case of Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon was mentioned, but many of the so-called 'Yun Seok-yeol division' also suffered unfair demotion several times in the current government.
It is also true that most of these people are recognized experts inside and outside the prosecution in the investigation of corruption crimes.
The reason that the ridiculous incompetence has been exposed one after another in the recent investigation process of large-scale cases is partly because of political pressure, but also because a large number of people with expertise in special investigations have been kicked out of their jobs.
It is natural for competent prosecutors who were unfairly demoted to return to the front line.
However, Yoon Seok-yeol needs to remember the lessons learned from the 2019 prosecution service when he took office as the Prosecutor General.
At that time, President Yoon Seok-yeol, who exercised considerable influence over the personnel of the prosecution based on the full trust of the Blue House, concentrated the so-called 'Yun Seok-yeol division' close to him in key positions.
The problem is that the 'Yun Seok-Yeol Division', represented by Special Tong, monopolizes major positions too much, and the 'Yun Seok-Yeol Division' is assigned to positions not related to special investigations, etc.
In the early months when Yoon Seok-yeol began to be under strong pressure in relation to the investigation into the motherland case, the fact that the voice of Yoon Seok-yeol within the prosecution was not as loud as expected was also related to the unreasonable personnel management led by the Yoon Seok-yeol division.
Still, the side effects of Yoon Seok-yeol's remarks during his time as the Prosecutor General was relatively small because he was the official person in charge of the organization called the Prosecutor General.
Since becoming president, the prosecution's normal personnel balance will be disrupted, and personnel appointments will be made based on friendly relations with the president.
Even if the investigative authority is removed and the budget is organized independently, few people will believe that an organization perfectly controlled by the 'Yun Seok-Yeol Division' will be independent of the 'President Yoon Seok-Yeol'.
This does not mean that prosecutors from the 'Yun Seok-Yeol Division' should not be appointed to key positions.
It means that you should not make a biased greeting that breaks the normal balance like the 2019 greeting.
This is also a point to be especially careful about if you are a 'President from the Prosecutor General'.
4. A special inspectorate should be appointed.
One of the most obvious mistakes made by the Moon Jae-in administration in relation to undermining the power monitoring system was not appointing a special inspectorate.
The Special Inspectorate is an independent organization that inspects Blue House officials at the senior secretarial level or higher and the president's relatives.
The Park Geun-hye administration's National Nongdan case also came to light when Special Inspector Lee Seok-soo at the time investigated allegations of corruption in the Mir Foundation.
After the resignation of Special Inspector Lee Seok-soo, the Moon Jae-in administration did not appoint a Special Inspectorate throughout his tenure.
Some members of the Democratic Party also argued that the effectiveness of the special inspectorate system had been exhausted with the introduction of the Airborne Service, but over a year after its inception, the Airborne Service has not had a single case of prosecuting a Blue House official or a relative of the president, which is subject to inspection by the special inspectorate.
President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol, who claimed that the Moon Jae-in administration had fundamentally broken the power monitoring system, will have to quickly appoint the right person to the post of special inspectorate, which has been vacant for more than five years.
In particular, during the election process, various noises arose regarding the figures of the wife-in-law of President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol, and as many suspicions arose regarding his spouse Kim Kun-hee, the monitoring of relatives through a special inspectorate should be carried out hastily.
An independent and impartial person who has expertise in inspection or investigation, but has no special relationship with President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol, should be appointed as the special inspectorate.
In fact, it is a principle that the police and prosecutors monitor corruption crimes committed by high-ranking officials of the Blue House or relatives of the president.
However, the special inspectorate system was introduced due to concerns that the police and prosecutors may not actively and fairly investigate crimes related to the Blue House or the President, which have the authority to appoint the police and prosecutors.
As President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol, who has a special responsibility to secure the independence and neutrality of the prosecution as a 'President from the Prosecutor General's Office,' the appointment of the Special Inspector General should not be delayed.
5. Accept media scrutiny.
There is something that the Moon Jae-in administration actively used before the 'Fatherland Crisis', but completely blocked it after the 'Fatherland Crisis'.
It is a press report on public figures' submission of indictment to the National Assembly and the prosecution's investigation.
In particular, in order to control the latter, the Ministry of Justice has even enacted a decree on the prohibition of disclosure of criminal cases.
The reason why the policy that prevents disclosure of indictments for public figures should be abolished is simple.
Prior to the 'Fatherland Crisis', former Minister Choo Mi-ae and others who introduced the policy of prohibiting the disclosure of indictments have been actively using the indictment disclosure system.
When it comes to the disclosure of information about public figures, there is always a conflict between guaranteeing privacy or defense and guaranteeing the public right to know.
However, it deserves criticism for overturning an issue that has been socially agreed upon because it is a practice that has been maintained for nearly 20 years and that the need for information disclosure is greater than the need for public officials to guarantee the right to defend themselves.
Moreover, even after the policy of non-disclosure of the indictment was established, the indictment of a specific case was disclosed in exceptional detail, and the indictment of a case that the government or prosecutors were reluctant to disclose was often thoroughly closed.
In the past, of course, there was a negative effect of selectively adjusting the information that was disclosed to achieve political purposes.
Under the new government, the president-elect will have to abolish and normalize the Ministry of Justice's policy of not disclosing indictments.
Also, what the president can change right away is the Ministry of Justice decree, 'Regulations on the Prohibition of Disclosure of Criminal Cases, etc.'.
There are too many problems to point out in detail, so to briefly explain, this regulation allows the Ministry of Justice or the prosecution to disclose only the content they want to disclose, and completely blocks the reporting of information they want to hide, so it is extremely difficult to meet the normal right to know. It is an evil method of restricting
During the recent presidential election, various 'transcripts' were circulated, and sentences appearing in the transcripts were 'edited by the devil' or interpreted arbitrarily, causing extreme confusion. related
In the past, the media could request an explanation from the prosecution if an issue related to the outcome of the investigation or maintenance of the prosecution occurred, and the prosecution explained it.
However, since the introduction of the prohibition on disclosing criminal cases, most procedures or customs that allow the media to request information other than those disclosed by the prosecution have disappeared.
It is for this reason that the level of information that the public should know about the existence and meaning of the transcript has not been disclosed.
The ban on information disclosure, which blocks even the normal monitoring function of the media, needs to be changed in a realistic and fair way.
President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol had similar concerns when he was the prosecutor general or as a presidential candidate for the opposition party, but when he is in a position to exercise power, he may feel comfortable with the shield created by the current government.
Yoon Seok-yeol was elected by the people.
seem to have confidence
However, people did not shoot Yoon Seok-yeol because they thought it was good to see the prosecutor general running directly as a presidential candidate.
Even though he thought it was not appropriate to immediately turn into a politician after serving as prosecutor general, he chose Yoon Seok-yeol 'in spite of that'.
You will have to think about why you managed to win the presidential election by less than 1 percentage point, even though there were far more people who supported the regime change.
Members of the prosecution should also be afraid of their special relationship with the Blue House.
If you try to enjoy the secret relationship with the government without maintaining a sense of distance, the voices of checks against the prosecution will grow louder.
The reasons argued so far will inevitably be evaluated as merely for maintaining the authority of the organization.
Ensure the independence and neutrality of the prosecution, and maintain the distance between the Blue House and the prosecution.
These are things that the former prosecutor general and the prosecution organization should not forget.