Cheong Wa Dae said on the 18th that, regarding the resignation letter submitted by Minister of Justice Jung Sung-ho, it "asked that Jung fulfill the role entrusted until follow-up personnel measures are taken." Cheong Wa Dae had maintained that reports of Jung offering to resign were not true. But by asking Jung to handle the "remaining role" on this day, it effectively acknowledged that a formal resignation letter was submitted. Accordingly, President Lee Jae-myung is expected to approve the dismissal plan for the Minister soon.
At a briefing at Chunchugwan, chief presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said, "The Minister has faithfully carried out the role entrusted in line with public demand," and added this. Kang also said, "The Minister requested dismissal due to health reasons," and, "There is no set schedule for the subsequent Cabinet reshuffle."
Earlier, the Minister appeared at the National Assembly on the 26th of last month and said that Jung had expressed an intent to step down, saying, "New wine should be put into new wineskins," but Cheong Wa Dae denied it, saying, "That is not true." It said it could not confirm whether an official intention to resign had been expressed. At the time, the Minister said, "When the Prosecution Service Office and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency are launched on Oct. 2, 95% of prosecution reform will be achieved," and, "Since prosecution reform has been completed in broad terms, new wine should be put into new wineskins. I had been thinking about this since before the announcement to abolish the supplementary investigation authority."
A classmate of the president at the training institute and once called the "pro-Myung floor leader," the Minister has voiced concern about abolishing the supplementary investigation authority. The concern grew that, after the recent "Jang Yoon-gi case" exposed police case cover-ups, removing checks on the police would lead to harm to ordinary citizens. However, the Democratic Party passed a "full abolition" as its party line at a plenary session of the National Assembly. It finalized it and handled it at the plenary session on the 30th. In the process, the Minister also faced fierce attacks from hardline supporters.
Within the ruling camp, there was talk that the "helplessness" of the Minister, the head of the competent ministry, led to the expression of intent to resign. A key ruling-party official said, "The issue of the supplementary investigation authority became an area the Minister could not even touch because the voices of hardline supporters were so strong." Still, the Minister appeared at the National Assembly and said, "My health condition is very poor. I suffered from quite severe sleep disorders for several months," and, "Considering that aspect, I have had many discussions with those around the president about expressing my intention to resign."