Minister Jung Sung-ho of the Ministry of Justice on the 11th called the claim raised on YouTuber Kim Ou-joon's channel—that the government and prosecutors made a transaction to cancel President Lee Jae-myung's indictment—"a ridiculous conspiracy theory."
The Minister stated accordingly in a Facebook post that day, "The debate on prosecution reform, which should be discussed seriously, is being mired in a wasteful dispute."
The Minister said, "I have never told prosecutors to cancel an indictment related to any specific case," adding, "I have also not delivered any message or text in connection with supplementary investigation authority."
He continued, "What I have consistently conveyed to prosecutors since taking office as Minister is, 'Reflect on why the prosecution lost the public's trust and make changes,' and, 'Do not be swayed during the reform phase; do your utmost in the duties each of you is originally supposed to perform.'"
The Minister said, "Prosecution reform under the popular sovereignty government (Lee Jae-myung administration) is guided only by the standards of 'public safety from crime' and 'stabilizing people's livelihoods,'" adding, "The goal is solely to make the prosecution faithful to protecting the public's human rights." He then wrote, "There is no transaction with any group or force."
The Minister said, "Because something differs from their own views, bringing up the highly inappropriate claim of a conspiracy theory in the discourse on prosecution reform—something the entire public must deliberate—and plunging the public forum, where rational debate should occur, into division and conflict is regrettable."
Earlier, a former reporter appeared on Kim Ou-joon's YouTube show on the 10th and said, "A senior government official, who can only be seen as one of the president's closest aides, recently delivered a message to numerous senior prosecutors saying, 'Please cancel the indictment (in the president's case),'" adding, "The prosecution will think, 'The Lee Jae-myung administration wants to make a transaction with us.'"
Regarding this, criticism also emerged from the Democratic Party of Korea. Policy Committee Chair Han Jeong-ae wrote on Facebook, "It goes beyond absurdity to being outrageous," and asked, "What on earth is the reason for approaching this so conspiratorially?"