[Editorial] Background of Justice Minister Replacement Unsatisfactory

After the Kim Dae-Jung administration came into power, the justice minister and prosecutor general were set up as Honam prosecutor general – non-Honam minister or non-Honam prosecutor general – Honam minister. When Prosecutor General Shin Seung-Nam resigned as a way of taking responsibility for the investigation that went awry on the scandal gate in which his brother was involved, both minister and prosecutor general were non-Honam people for the first time. The administration, however, reshuffled the minister.

Although politicians go on arguing back and forth about the replacement of Justice Minister Choi Kyung-Won, who was judged as having carried out his duties without major flaws, after mere eight months, the true nature of this act shows that the power holders still intend to take control of the Public Prosecution. If Mr. Shin Seung-Nam had remained as the Prosecutor General, Minister Choi would not have been replaced. In a situation where political authorities rest easy only if either the minister or prosecutor general is from the same region, the autonomy of the Prosecution has to be remote.

The Justice Minister is the top supervisor of the Public Prosecutors Office and has authority over all the personnel. The Ministry of Justice denies the report that there were delays in management personnel in the Prosecutors Office due to differences in opinion between former minister Choi and the Cheong Wa Dae. However, the unexpected replacement of the minister when there was a delay in Prosecutors Office personnel leaves many questions unanswered.

The investigator line-up in the Seoul Regional Prosecutors Office and the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office is crucial for thoroughly completing the scandal investigations. Justice Minister Song Jeong-Ho and Prosecutor General Myung Jae-Lee will now oversee the Prosecutors Office personnel which is to be soon decided.

If the Prosecution cannot carry out an exhaustively thorough investigation of all the gates except the `Lee Yong-Ho Gate` which is under the Special Prosecutors jurisdiction, it will repeat the vicious circle yet again. One cannot achieve the harmony and recover the balance in the Prosecution if it remains attached to favoritism and nepotism in hiring personnel. Individuals directly involved in minimizing or covering up the gates should leave the Prosecutors Office altogether or be removed from the canceled investigation team.