New Justice Minister Choo vows to reform prosecution

New Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae, right, shakes hand with Bae Seong-beom, the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, during her inaugural ceremony at the government complex in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. / Yonhap

By Kim Jae-heun

New Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae has vowed to reform the prosecution in what she called “the demand of the times.”

“Prosecution reform is what we call the most difficult and challenging task and it has become the demand of the times that nobody can go against,” Choo said in her inaugural speech at the government complex building in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, on Friday.

“As far as the ministry is concerned, we will have to take on the task with a particular attitude in completing the historic reformation.”

The nation's demand and support for reform of the prosecution had reached its highest level in history according to various polls, Choo said.

“President Moon Jae-in's administration has been working continuously to revamp power apparatuses like the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the Defense Security Command and it has achieved a fair level of performance,” she said.

Choo also called for efforts within the prosecution.

“Reforming the prosecution is a hard job and it cannot be done with outside force only,” she said. “It is about time for voices calling for change and reform within the organization to come out.”

The justice minister added that successful reform of the prosecution requires determination and cooperation of people outside and inside the agency.

“When I mean a force from outside, I am referring to the people of our nation, and individual prosecutors will be the force from inside,” Choo said. “It will start from me and I will listen and communicate to reform the prosecution successfully. I will not regard the prosecution as only a subject to reform but a companion in rebuilding an investigative organization that people want.”

Referring to a recent bill passed at the National Assembly to establish an independent body investigating corruption by high-ranking officials and redistribute investigative power between prosecution and the police, Choo said the ministry has to be the starting point not only for aligning the relevant enforcement ordinance but also changing the organizational culture and customs from their roots.

“To regain the people's trust, the Ministry of Justice will speed up its process on democratic control over the prosecution,” Choo said. “I affirm that raising the ministry's status comes as a precondition to putting the prosecution back in its original position.”

Reforming the prosecution has been Moon's top priority since he pledged during his 2017 presidential campaign to end the prosecution's monopoly on investigative power.

He had expected former Justice Minister Cho Kuk to do this, but the controversial minister had served only 35 days before he resigned over his family's alleged academic fraud and financial wrongdoings.

The position had been vacant for two months until Moon filled it with the five-time lawmaker, whom he expects to add momentum to revamping the prosecution.

Political parties had mixed responses to Choo's appointment.

The ruling Democratic Party said Choo was the right person for the job, while the main opposition Liberty Korea Party argued that the move was intended to weaken the prosecution's power while covering up a recent investigation involving Cheong Wa Dae's alleged intervention in 2018 local elections.