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| Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae answers a question from a journalist during a press conference in the ministry headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. The conference took place to mark her first 40 days in the office./ Yonhap |
By Kim Se-jeong
Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae defended herself Tuesday over her controversial decision to stop disclosing the full text of indictments involving President Moon-Jae-in's close allies, saying it was necessary step.
During a press conference marking her first 40 days in office, the minister also explained her move to separate the investigation procedure from the indictment process. Choo is seeking to create a separate prosecution unit to decide on indictments after it reviews the results of investigations by subordinate prosecutors.
"What I did was a first step to correct wrong practices by giving defendants the benefit of the doubt and the right to a fair trial," she said during the press conference held at the ministry headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province.
On Feb. 5, Choo ordered the ministry to stop disclosing information to the National Assembly about the indictments of Moon's allies involved in the 2018 Ulsan mayoral election-meddling scandal.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office is currently investigating allegations that Cheong Wa Dae aides helped Song Cheol-ho win the election in 2018 by initiating a police probe into his rival, then-incumbent Kim Gi-hyeon of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP).
The prosecution office indicted 13 people Jan. 29, including Song; Ulsan Vice Mayor Song Byung-gi; former Ulsan Police chief Hwan Un-ha; Han Byung-do, former senior presidential secretary for political affairs; Baek Won-woo, former presidential secretary for civil affairs; and Park Hyoung-chul, former presidential secretary for anticorruption. A local Korean newspaper obtained the full 71-page indictment, Feb. 7.
On Jan. 30, Im Jong-seok, a former presidential chief of staff, was questioned over his role in the scandal, but the prosecution decided to stop the investigation until after the April 15 general election.
As to separating the investigation and indictment arms of the prosecution, Choo said, "I am considering this option because when an investigation and indictment are done by same team, there is the risk of the loss of impartiality and objectivity"
Asked how her prosecution reform drive was going, the minister said, "Reform is not only about big changes like revising laws or moving people around. It is about putting myself in the shoes of ordinary citizens and changing practices, no matter how miniscule they are, to meet their needs."
Ahn Cheol-soo, a former presidential candidate defeated in the 2017 election and the former head of the Bareunmirae Party, was among the first to react to Choo's comments: "If I get elected in the general election, I will hold Minister Choo accountable for interfering into the prosecution's investigation of the election-meddling scandal."
Ahn was particularly critical of Choo removing lead prosecutors in charge of investigations of corruption among President Moon's aides, effectively stymying the probes.
There was no immediate reaction from the LKP, however, one day earlier, the party filed a crime investigation request to the prosecution and vowed to seek Moon's impeachment.
