Embattled justice minister resigns

Justice Minister Cho Kuk boards his car to leave the ministry building at Gwacheon Government Complex, Monday, after announcing his resignation amid intensifying investigations into corruption allegations involving his family. / Yonhap

By Kang Seung-woo

Besieged Justice Minister Cho Kuk announced his resignation Monday, saying he had accomplished his mission to get the government's reform plan for the prosecution on track.

The sudden announcement came just three hours after he had disclosed a second set of reform measures.

He said he made the decision to leave to ease the political burden on President Moon Jae-in and his administration.

“Reforming the prosecution has been my lifetime mission as a scholar and intellectual, and over the past two years, I did my best as senior presidential secretary for civil affairs and justice minister to fulfill that goal,” Cho said in a statement to the press.

“I have been mere kindling for the reform of the prosecution, and as such my role has come to an end. I believe this is the time when I should step down from the post to successfully help complete prosecutorial reform.”

Cho's resignation came 35 days after he took office, Sept. 9, amid a snowballing series of scandals involving him and his family members. Despite strong protests from the opposition bloc and even some ruling party members, President Moon pushed ahead with appointing his close aide to head the justice ministry.

Despite the intensifying backlash against him, Cho showed a strong determination to carry out the reforms at whatever the cost ― the justice minister announced 11 reform measures and the government has been stepping up its efforts to revise relevant laws.

“Reform of the prosecution has become an undeniable task ― an achievement that could not be seen under previous administrations,” Cho said in the statement.

He acknowledged that his departure was due to the allegations surrounding his family members and the intensifying investigation of them.

“While my efforts were directed toward reforming the prosecution over the past two years, allegations surrounding my family have come from nowhere. For whatever reason, I feel apologetic to the people -- regarding the ongoing probes into my family ― particularly, young adults.”

On the same day, Cho's wife, Chung Kyung-sim, a university professor, was questioned by the prosecution for the fifth time as part of the widening investigation into the corruption allegations. Chung was indicted for forging a college presidential citation to help the couple's daughter gain admission to a medical school, and a court hearing about the case is scheduled to start Friday. She is also suspected of illicit activity regarding a dubious private equity fund investment firm.

Along with his wife, his daughter and son were also questioned about alleged false internship certificates and college admission forms.

“Now my family is totally destroyed and putting everything aside, I will look after them,” he said.

Finally, Cho asked the people to endorse the government's drive to reorganize the prosecution, the key issue of which is to redistribute its exclusive investigative rights with the police.

"The nation's power comes from the people. No power can stand above the people. The prosecution should adopt an organizational culture that is for the people and that is people-centric,” he said.

Frustrated by the corruption scandals involving Cho's family, massive demonstrations against him have taken place since last month ― although people supporting reform of the prosecution also organized rallies at the same time.

Cho's resignation also coincided with declining approval ratings for President Moon. Earlier in the day, a survey by local pollster Realmeter found 41.4 percent of Koreans supported the head of state, with 56.1 percent opposing him; the former being lowest in the weekly surveys of public support for the President since he took office in May 2017.

The survey also showed 55.9 percent of people agreed that Cho should step down, while 40.5 percent said he should stay in his post.

Meanwhile, hours ahead of the announcement, Cho unveiled a set of reform measure to abolish all but three special investigative units ― which deal with high-profile corruption cases ― at prosecutors' offices nationwide. The remaining ones will be rebranded as anti-corruption investigative units.

In addition, the ministry also focused on protecting the rights of suspects questioned by the prosecution. Some practices, such as public summoning and late-night questioning, have been criticized for infringing on the rights of suspects who have not been proven guilty.