By Yi Whan-woo
The Ministry of Justice has formed a committee to select three candidates from which a new prosecutor-general will be chosen, filling a vacancy that has remained open since late November.
However, the ongoing selection process has caused a stir due to allegations that President Lee Myung-bak wants the new prosecution chief picked before his term ends on Feb. 24 in order to cover up a number of corruption allegations surrounding him.
The ministry said Monday it cannot confirm whether Cheong Wa Dae and the presidential transition team agreed for the candidates to be chosen before President-elect Park Geun-hye is inaugurated on Feb. 25.
Some prosecutors are concerned that the selection process is being pushed by Justice Minister Kwon Jae-jin, saying that it would be better for the new President to appoint the prosecutor-general.
“Park has stressed that she will reform the prosecution during her term, and I doubt whether the prosecutor-general chosen by her predecessor can serve her purpose properly,” a prosecutor said.
However, the ruling Saenuri Party said President-elect Park will not have any problem. It added it deems the ministry’s move legal, referring to the fact that the revised law in November 2011 allows the ministry to pick candidates for prosecutor-general when the post is empty.
“I want to make it clear that any speculation that President Lee and President-elect Park have uneasy relations over the matter is untrue,” said Park Sun-kyu, a spokesman for the incoming president. “Moreover, it takes about two months for a prosecutor-general to be chosen from the day the committee is formed. In that way, it is Park who will name the top prosecutor, not Lee.”
The post of the prosecutor-general has been vacant since Nov. 23 when Han Sang-dae, 53, stepped down. He faced mounting criticism that he negligently controlled his organization that has been rocked by corruption scandals.
A senior prosecutor was arrested in November for taking a large bribes from the country’s most-wanted con artist, Cho Hee-pal.
The nomination committee is comprised of nine members; six of them are chosen from judges, prosecutors, lawyers, and law professors. The remaining three members will be people who are not law professionals but have expertise in other fields.
The ministry said it seeks to convene the committee’s first meeting by Feb. 10 after selecting the nine members. The group will chose three nominees to head the prosecution through a vote. The ministry will submit the list to President Lee for approval under the law.
Speculation has arisen that the outgoing President pushed the ministry to form the committee and rushed ahead of the selection of candidates for him to review.
President Lee has been dogged by a series of bribery cases related to his former aides as well as his family members.