Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho pushed back against Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae's call to fully abolish prosecutors' supplementary investigation power, saying he wanted to ask "whether there is an alternative and any consideration for how victims will be protected." He expressed concern that if prosecutors' supplementary investigation power disappears in cases where socially vulnerable people are victims, such as sex crimes and crimes against children, case resolution could be delayed and wronged victims could emerge.
Jung made the remarks Thursday after attending the 55th National Correctional Officers Martial Arts Competition held at the gymnasium of the Justice Research and Training Institute's Jincheon headquarters in North Chungcheong Province, where he met with reporters. "In the process of prosecutorial reform, the separation of investigation and indictment, and the revision of the Criminal Procedure Act, the most important thing is the protection of victims," he said. The comments were interpreted as an indirect rebuttal to a message the party leader issued that morning, calling for the full abolition of prosecutors' supplementary investigation power during the revision of the Criminal Procedure Act.
Citing sex crimes and cases involving children as examples, Jung stressed that prosecutors' supplementary role is necessary. "Sex crimes often rely on testimony and frequently occur within power relationships inside organizations, so proving them is not easy," he said. "Women's rights groups are also saying that prosecutors' supplementary role is needed to protect victims." He added, "An approach that says side effects can be fixed later is irresponsible," pointing out that "if even one wronged victim emerges, it is a serious problem."
Regarding the previous day's first-instance ruling in favor of Prosecutor Jung Yu-mi in her lawsuit seeking to cancel her reassignment, he signaled plans to appeal. "It is a ruling with considerable problems," Jung said. "If issuing a personnel order is treated the same as disciplinary action simply because disadvantage ultimately resulted, I have many concerns about how state civil servant personnel decisions can be made going forward." He continued, "I plan to contest it clearly through an appeal." The Seoul Administrative Court's Fifth Administrative Division ruled that the personnel decision transferring Jung from her position as a senior prosecutor to a research fellow at the Justice Research and Training Institute was an illegal disposition that deviated from and abused personnel discretion.
On the Prosecution Human Rights Respect Future Committee designating cases related to President Lee Jae-myung — including the Ssangbangwool money transfer to North Korea case and the Daejang-dong development corruption case — as subjects of investigation, he drew a line against political interpretations. "The committee is an independent organization and does not even need to report to the minister," Jung said. "Given the deep distrust of the prosecution, there was a need to show that it is changing on its own, which is why the committee was created."
Jung also reaffirmed his commitment to pursuing the Corrections Headquarters' two long-standing goals: "corrections agency independence" and "burial of correctional officers in national cemeteries." "There are more than 16,000 correctional officers, and the number of inmates to be managed will soon reach 64,000," he said. "Because rehabilitating criminals requires high expertise and specialization, an independent organizational system is needed." The Ministry of Justice plans to launch a Corrections Future Innovation Group on the 25th to establish the corrections agency. On the burial of correctional officers in national cemeteries, he stressed that it is "not a privilege but a rightful entitlement."
