Justice Minister-designate Lee Yong-cheol: “Complete prosecution reform without a hitch ... ensure the new criminal justice system takes hold quickly”

[Financial News] Justice Minister-designate Lee Yong-cheol (21st class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute) said in his remarks on being nominated that he would complete prosecution reform and ensure the new criminal justice system takes hold. He is the first minister-designate to oversee legal affairs since the launch of the Public Prosecution Office and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency (SCIA).
Lee said in a statement to the press on the afternoon of the 6th, “I feel a profound sense of responsibility after being nominated as a candidate for Minister of Justice at this critical time, when the Public Prosecution Office and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency have newly launched and the criminal justice system has undergone a major overhaul, and I am to take charge of legal affairs.”
Lee attributed his nomination to his past experience. He said, “I believe the President nominated me as a candidate for Minister of Justice because he wants me to draw on my experience as Legal Affairs Secretary at the Blue House under the Participatory Government, where I worked on prosecution reform and judicial system reform, including the adjustment of investigative powers between the prosecution and police, to complete prosecution reform and help ensure the successful establishment of the substantially revised criminal justice system.”
He outlined three goals. Lee said, “If I am given the opportunity to serve as minister, I will complete prosecution reform without disruption and work to ensure the new criminal justice system takes hold quickly, while doing my utmost to protect the human rights of socially vulnerable people, including victims of crime.” He added, “I will do my utmost to prepare so that the public can rigorously assess my ability and qualifications.”
President Lee Jae Myung nominated Lee for Minister of Justice that afternoon. Lee currently heads the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). The Ministry of Justice post had been vacant for more than two months following the departure of former minister Jung Sung-ho and the failure of former nominee Kim Seung-won’s nomination.
Lee is from Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun) and served as Second Secretary for Civil Affairs and Legal Affairs Secretary at the Blue House under the Roh Moo-hyun administration. From 2006, he worked at the law firm where President Lee had worked, and in 2010, after Lee was elected mayor of Seongnam, he joined the mayor-elect’s transition committee. He later served as CEO of the Seongnam Industry Promotion Foundation.
If Lee is appointed, it will be difficult for him to avoid the issue of withdrawing indictments in criminal cases involving President Lee. The National Assembly passed the so-called Special Counsel Act on Fabricated Prosecution that day, bringing cases related to President Lee within the scope of the investigation. Although the provision allowing the special counsel to decide whether to continue the prosecutions was removed from the bill, debate over withdrawing indictments remains. The key question is what position Lee will take at his confirmation hearing. 


[email protected] Kim Dong-gyu Reporter