Outgoing Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho Says Presidential Dismissal of Charges Has "Nothing to Do With It"

Jeong Seong-ho, Minister of Justice, firmly denied speculation that the burden of dismissing charges in cases involving President Lee Jae-myung played a role in his resignation. The point was that dismissal of charges is not something the minister decides, but an issue for the Prosecution Service, which handled the investigation and indictment.
According to the legal community on the 26th, Jeong met reporters after his farewell ceremony at Government Complex Gwacheon in Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, that afternoon and said, "It has absolutely nothing to do with the issue of dismissing charges against the president." He added, "Whether charges are dismissed is not a matter for the minister. Isn't it the Prosecution Service, which lawfully investigated and indicted the case, that handles it? It is completely untrue."
Jeong had expressed his intention to step down after the ruling party last month made abolishing prosecutors' authority to conduct supplementary investigations its official party line, and he submitted his letter of resignation on the 18th. President Lee Jae-myung accepted it on the 24th. Because Jeong is a classmate of Lee from the 18th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute and has long been regarded as a leading figure among pro-Lee factions within the ruling party, some had speculated that the dismissal-of-charges issue was behind his departure.
Jeong pointed to the National Assembly and the Prosecution Service as the main parties in any discussion over dismissing charges. "Since the National Assembly is discussing special prosecutors and related matters, I think it will handle it directly," he said. "There are also voices within the Prosecution Service saying that past mistakes should be sorted out during the transition to the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the Public Prosecution Office." He then referred to the Ministry of Justice's Prosecution Future Committee, which he launched in June, and said, "The committee is reviewing past investigations and cases that raised public suspicion, so discussions can take place after that."
When asked about criticism that the committee's review subjects include many cases involving President Lee and are therefore out of step with public sentiment, he replied, "What raises the most suspicion is that there were so many cases involving President Lee under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration." He added, "As revealed in the parliamentary investigation, those were excessive investigations, and this is part of the process of sorting that out." He went on to say, "There are many other cases as well, and shouldn't those be included too? It was not created because of President Lee's cases, and it was not formed for President Lee."
On speculation within the ruling party that an early special prosecutor bill could be voted on in September, he drew a line and said, "That is something the National Assembly does. It does not seem to be something a minister should handle personally."
Earlier, at the farewell ceremony held at 4 p.m. that day, Jeong said, "Please do your utmost to ensure that the public is protected without fail during the implementation of the new criminal justice system." He added, "I will also return to the National Assembly, do my part, and devote myself fully to helping the Ministry of Justice." Jeong, who took office as the first Minister of Justice under the Lee Jae-myung administration on July 21 last year, served for one year and one month. Vice Minister Lee Jin-su will act as minister until a successor is appointed.


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