The Ministry of Justice said the breach of trust offense has burdened corporate management and will push to overhaul it. It plans to amend related statutes in this regular National Assembly session and complete alternative legislation.
The Ministry of Justice on the 5th briefed President Lee Jae-myung at the Blue House State Guest House on its "second-half 2026 work plan," which includes these measures.
Minister Jung Sung-ho of the Ministry of Justice said at a pre-briefing held that morning at the Government Complex in Gwacheon that, regarding the breach of trust offense, "Resolving the abuse and over-application of the breach of trust offense has been a long-standing wish of corporations," and "Managerial decisions by corporations were punished as breach of trust, and the biggest basis for the misunderstanding that prosecutors abused their authority not only in past political cases but also in economic cases was the breach of trust offense."
The Minister said, "Amending the breach of trust offense is essential so businesspeople can make investment decisions quickly without worry," adding, "We are preparing with legal aides at the Blue House. We are preparing so it can be amended in the regular National Assembly session."
The Ministry of Justice analyzed about 3,500 breach of trust-related precedents handed down over the past five years. Based on this, the ministry is reviewing abolishing the breach of trust offense and enacting a special law, or strictly revising the existing elements of the breach of trust offense.
Earlier, President Lee Jae-myung was indicted on charges including breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes in connection with the Wirye and Daejang-dong cases. As the government moved to overhaul the breach of trust offense, the opposition argued it was "intended to influence the president's trial." In response, the Minister said it was "like a novel."