Minister Jung Sung-ho of the Justice Ministry on the 12th said he "cannot understand" Noh Man-seok, the acting prosecutor general (deputy chief of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office), who offered to resign after facing internal criticism within the prosecution following the decision to drop the appeal in the "Daejang-dong development scandal."
At a plenary session of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee that day, the Minister said, "If there was that level of resolve, shouldn't he have requested the Minister's directive in writing?"
At a plenary session of the Special Committee on Budget & Accounts that day, the Minister said, "I never opposed filing an appeal." This rebutted the allegation that the prosecution had come under outside pressure from the Justice Ministry before deciding to drop the appeal in the Daejang-dong development scandal.
When asked what instructions he gave to Vice Minister Lee Jin-su of the Justice Ministry, the Minister said, "A heavy sentence was handed down, so I merely said it would be necessary to make a careful judgment, and that was it." He added, "Because we must respect the prosecution's view, I told them to judge carefully," and said, "The responsibility and decision for that judgment lies with the prosecution themselves."
At the Budget and Settlement Fund Review Subcommittee of the parliamentary Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the Vice Minister said, "It is true that I called Vice Administrator Noh Man-seok," adding, "I made one call (to convey to the prosecution) the part where (the Minister) expressed a 'cautious view' on filing an appeal."
He went on to say, "In the call, I made it clear this was prior consultation and coordination and part of the consultative process, not the exercise of investigative command authority," adding, "Without following formal procedures, one must not and cannot exercise investigative command authority over a specific case."
Under the Prosecutors' Office Act, the justice minister generally directs and supervises prosecutors, but may direct and supervise only the prosecutor general in specific cases.
A representative example is in Oct. 2005, when then-Justice Minister Chun Jung-bae ordered a non-detention investigation in the case involving Kang Jeong-gu, a former Dongguk University professor who was under investigation on suspicion of violating the National Security Act. Then-Prosecutor General Kim Jong-bin accepted the investigative command and offered to resign. In addition, the investigative command authority was exercised by former Minister Choo Mi-ae and former Minister Park Beom-kye.
Meanwhile, the Minister said, "There are also claims that during the (Daejang-dong) investigation, there were human rights violations or illegal and improper acts," adding, "We believe we need to conduct a separate inquiry."
The Minister also said, "It is not desirable for the prosecution's top executives, especially frontline chief prosecutors, to collectively express their opinions," adding, "We are closely monitoring, and we will make a judgment and take the necessary measures appropriately."