Justice ministry, prosecution clash over alleged external pressure to forgo appeal in corruption case

Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho attends a plenary session of the special committee on budget and accounts at the National Assembly in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

Controversy over the justice ministry and the prosecution intensified Wednesday as conflicting accounts about alleged ministry pressure to block the appeal of a corruption case linked to President Lee Jae Myung turned the dispute into a messy blame game.

The justice ministry and the prosecution have come under fire after prosecutors decided not to appeal in a high-profile corruption case involving a real estate development project in Seongnam from when Lee was the city's mayor.

The decision not to appeal the case has sparked strong pushback from within the ranks of prosecutors, raising suspicions that the justice ministry exerted undue pressure to prevent the prosecution from lodging the appeal in Lee's favor.

The chief prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has offered to resign amid the escalating controversy, while the acting prosecutor-general has remained silent amid calls for his own resignation.

Speaking before lawmakers on Wednesday, Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho denied giving any instructions to the prosecution to influence its decision about the appeal.

"I did not oppose the appeal," Jung said during a National Assembly plenary session when asked by a lawmaker if the ministry exerted pressure.

Jung also said that he did not discuss the matter with the presidential office.

The controversy has further intensified after Jung acknowledged he had told the Supreme Prosecutors Office to make a "careful decision after considering various circumstances."

Acting Prosecutor-General Noh Man-seok added to the controversy after it emerged that he told other prosecutors in a meeting that the vice justice minister had given him "several choices" regarding the appeal, all of which he described as effectively being just one.

Vice Justice Minister Lee Jin-soo has rejected those claims.

When asked by reporters about the comments earlier, Jung insisted they cannot be seen as exerting pressure, saying it is "something we say all the time."

Last Friday was the deadline for the prosecution to file an appeal.

The main opposition People Power Party has urged Jung to resign, demanding the presidential office clarify the mounting suspicions about its alleged involvement in the prosecution's decision.

The development corruption case centers on allegations that a small number of unheard-of private asset management companies, including Hwacheon Daeyu, were allowed to reap astronomical investment profits from a real estate development project in Seongnam's Daejang-dong district in 2015, when Lee was the city's mayor.

Lee stood trial on charges of inflicting losses to Seongnam Development Corp., which was in charge of the project, before a court indefinitely postponed his trial following his presidential election victory in June.

In a separate trial, however, a district court sentenced Yoo Dong-gyu, former acting president of Seongnam Development Corp., and Kim Man-bae, a major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, to eight-year prison terms each on charges, including breach of duty, on Oct. 31.

Three other suspects were sentenced to prison terms ranging from four to six years.