ED Lee must put victims before partisan politics
Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho speaks during a National Assembly meeting in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
Prosecutorial reform bill should be carefully reviewed
Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho tendered his resignation on Sunday, days after the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) reaffirmed its determination to pass an amendment stripping the prosecution of its authority to oversee police investigations in criminal cases.
Jung repeatedly argued that prosecutors must retain the authority to supervise police investigations, warning that removing this power would ultimately harm victims of crime. His concerns, however, were ignored.
Expressing his frustration after submitting his resignation, Jung said there was nothing more he could accomplish as justice minister. "Nor do I have any will to try something new to fix it," he said.
This is not the first time Jung has expressed his desire to step down and return to the National Assembly as a lawmaker. He said he had conveyed his intention to resign on multiple occasions to several unnamed presidential secretaries in the hope that they would persuade President Lee Jae Myung to let him leave the Cabinet.
It remains uncertain whether Lee will accept the resignation. The president arrived in Brazil on Monday for a summit with that country's leader and is also scheduled to visit Argentina and Chile as part of his South America tour.
The presidential office denied the media reports, saying Jung’s resignation had not been confirmed. “That said, I can say that reports claiming he has offered to resign are not true,” a presidential official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters.
On Monday, however, Jung reiterated his intention to resign. Asked whether he would formally submit his resignation to President Lee upon the president’s return, Jung replied, “New wine deserves a new bag.”
Jung's frustration is understandable.
A close aide to Lee, Jung has consistently defended the prosecution's authority to supervise police investigations, even as several hard-line DPK lawmakers have pushed to eliminate the rule, arguing that it has enabled prosecutors to abuse their power.
Lee initially sided with the justice minister, urging the DPK leadership to slow down and pursue gradual reform of prosecutorial authority. But the president later shifted his stance, toning down his criticism of the party leadership and saying he would leave the matter to the ruling party. The timing coincided with the party's leadership race.
The amendment has become a political football as candidates compete to consolidate support ahead of the DPK's Aug. 17 leadership election.
Former DPK Chairman Rep. Jung Chung-rae, who is running for reelection as party leader, has been one of the amendment's strongest advocates. He has actively championed the proposal in an apparent effort to win support from the party's hard-line base, which wields significant influence in the primaries.
His rival, former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, initially took a more cautious approach, calling for additional discussion before the party finalized its position. However, on June 25 he reversed course, saying that the Lee administration's official position was to strip prosecutors of their authority to supervise police investigations.
Jung and Kim are now locked in a close two-way race ahead of the Aug. 17 primary.
A recent KSOI poll found Jung leading Kim within the margin of error, while Rep. Song Young-gil trailed in a distant third. Support for Jung stood at 25.7 percent, compared with 21.5 percent for Kim and 8.3 percent for Song. The survey's margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
The ruling party plans to submit the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act to a plenary session of the National Assembly on Thursday and is expected to pass it despite opposition from the People Power Party. Given the DPK's legislative majority, the bill is likely to be approved in the Assembly by the end of the month.
If the amendment passes as expected, its fate will rest with Lee. The legislation cannot take effect until he signs it into law, meaning there is still an opportunity to stop it.
Lee himself has repeatedly expressed support for maintaining the prosecution's authority to supervise police investigations.
Enacting the amendment would come at the expense of crime victims, weakening an important safeguard against investigative errors and abuses. Victims could find themselves with fewer avenues for redress and less effective oversight of police investigations. Lee should remain true to his stated position and veto the bill.