Candidate for Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon delivered to the National Assembly that the Office of the Investigation and Information Officer (Sujeong Office) of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, which is in charge of collecting information with the 'eyes and ears' of the Prosecutor General, should be revived.
In a written response to a personnel hearing submitted to the National Assembly, one candidate said about the abolition of the correctional officer's office, saying, "If the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's investigative information collection department is abolished, there is a risk that the direct investigation function of the prosecution on corruption and economic crimes will be severely impaired." I did.
He added, "If I take office as the Minister of Justice, I will carefully review the desirable organizational restructuring and system improvement measures that can prevent side effects while preserving the proper function of the Supreme Prosecutor's Office's information collection department."
The Office of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office has been continuously reduced for the purpose of reforming the prosecution under the Moon Jae-in administration, and when Yoon-elect Yoon served as the Prosecutor General, it was reorganized into the Office of the Information Management Officer and effectively abolished as controversy over judge inspections and suspicions of accusations arose.
Regarding the plan to replace the prosecutor's office with a public prosecution office after completely separating the prosecutor's and police investigative powers, one candidate said, "I know that the Constitutional Prosecutor's Warrant Requesting Regulations clearly presuppose the prosecutor's investigative power, so I know that the unconstitutional view is strong." "Practically, I am concerned that if the prosecution's investigation authority is deprived without any alternatives, the public will suffer great damage as a result," he said.
When asked how the prosecution could restore people's trust, they said, "We must become independent from political power." He said, "We must create a system and environment that allows the prosecution to conduct investigations fairly in accordance with laws and principles, without being swayed." .
When asked about his opinion on the relationship between criminal justice agencies and the media, he responded in principle, saying, "The performance of criminal justice agencies also needs to be in harmony with the people's right to know."
As a way to solve the so-called 'public courtesy' problem, he said, "An amendment to the Attorney's Act to block the exercise of influence at all stages from appointment and pleading to follow-up monitoring and disciplinary steps is pending in the National Assembly." “There is a need for a transparent and fair will to deal with all cases of the government,” he said.
When asked about the role of the Minister of Justice, he said, "The most important role of the Minister of Justice is to establish a rule of law that matches the values of justice and common sense and to ensure political neutrality. It takes courage and dedication to firmly defend the rule of law and the attitude of looking at the bay.”
In addition, regarding the provision of priority for investigation (Article 24 of the Public Relations Act) of the High-ranking Public Officials Crime Investigation Office (Public Police Agency), which President-elect Yoon promised to abolish, he said, “The aspect of infringing on the autonomy of other investigation agencies and the basic rights of persons involved in the case and causing delays in the investigation. There is a need for improvement,” he said.
(Photo = Yonhap News)