Minister Jeong Seong-ho, the nominee for the Minister of Justice, said during the National Assembly's confirmation hearing on the 16th, "It is time to resolve the issue of separating the prosecution's investigative and prosecutorial powers."
On that day, in his opening remarks at the confirmation hearing, the nominee said, "Judicial reform is a core task facing the Ministry of Justice," and noted, "We must now resolve the long-standing issue of separating the prosecution's investigative powers from its prosecutorial powers, which has been raised since the criminal procedure law was enacted in 1954."
He stated, "The separation of investigative and prosecutorial powers is an unavoidable direction for reform to ensure the political neutrality of the prosecution, disperse overly concentrated authority, and facilitate checks among investigative agencies." However, he emphasized, "There must be no side effects that cause inconvenience and anxiety to the public during the reform process. We must not undermine the excellent investigative capabilities that the prosecution and police have accumulated over time," and added, "If I become the Minister of Justice, I will actively consult with the National Assembly on the outline and specific plans for judicial reform."
The nominee also remarked, "Improving the system is not the end but the beginning," and stressed, "We must continuously rectify and supplement the new system to ensure it takes root and improve the organizational culture to smoothly transition to the revised judicial system." He further stated, "While pursuing this significant task, I will closely communicate with lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties and also listen widely to the insights of internal members and external experts."
In addition, the nominee said, "I will focus our policy capabilities on eradicating and preventing crimes that infringe on people's livelihoods and disrupt the economic order," and noted, "Ensuring that citizens can live comfortably and safely from crime is the fundamental duty of the Ministry of Justice."
He continued, "I will vigorously crack down on crimes that fundamentally destroy citizens' lives, such as drug offenses, digital sex crimes, voice phishing, jeonse fraud, wage theft, and illegal private financing, rooting them out completely," and added, "I will concentrate our administrative power on proactively responding to new types of crime."
The nominee stated, "If the public is not safe, it is difficult to protect both livelihoods and the economy," and emphasized, "The Ministry of Justice must faithfully fulfill its inherent role of creating a 'country safe from crime' while contributing to livelihood stability and social integration."
He then said, "To achieve this, we must quickly stabilize livelihoods, create growth engines, and unify public opinion," and added, "As the Minister of Justice, I will fulfill my inherent role of protecting the public from crime and promote justice administration that serves the citizens, while also addressing the pressing task of judicial reform to fulfill the historical mission assigned to the Minister of Justice."