According to the Kyunghyang Shinmun, President Lee Jae-myung on Friday named Defense Acquisition Program Administration head Lee Yong-chul as his nominee for justice minister. Lee said he would help the restructured criminal justice system take root after the launch of the new prosecution and serious crimes agencies.
According to the Kyunghyang Shinmun, President Lee Jae-myung on Friday named Lee Yong-chul, head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, as his nominee for justice minister. In his remarks, Lee said in effect that he takes the nomination as a mandate to complete prosecution reform without setbacks. The post has been vacant for more than two months since former minister Jeong Seong-ho left in August.
광고 문의 · 300×250Two Months Vacant, Run by an Acting Minister
The Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Seung-won was earlier nominated but withdrew, after which Vice Minister Lee Jin-soo has served as acting minister. A prolonged search may have raised concerns about leadership at the Justice Ministry just as the new criminal justice system took shape, but this paper could not confirm any specific assessment.
The Nominee's Background and Pledges
Lee is from Sunchang, North Jeolla Province, and graduated from Jeonju Shinheung High School and the law department of Yonsei University. He passed the 31st bar exam in 1989, practiced as a lawyer and was active in Lawyers for a Democratic Society. He served as civil affairs secretary in September 2003 and justice secretary that December at the Blue House, joined the transition team when Lee Jae-myung was elected Seongnam mayor in 2010, and became the 14th head of the defense procurement agency last November.
Lee said the responsibility is heavy because the Public Prosecution Office and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency are newly launched and the criminal justice system has been substantially restructured. He tied his selection to his experience as a justice secretary under President Roh Moo-hyun, when he worked on prosecution reform including the adjustment of investigative powers between prosecutors and police. If confirmed, he said, he would prioritize stabilizing the new system and protecting crime victims and vulnerable people.
Lee also said he would prepare thoroughly for the National Assembly confirmation hearing. The hearing schedule and the main points of contention have not been confirmed. His work at the defense agency, his concrete plans for prosecution reform and the division of roles between the two new agencies could come up, but that is this paper's own expectation and nothing has been settled.
On the same day the Kyunghyang Shinmun also reported that the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency had referred a case involving alleged false tax invoices at Coupang to the police, prompting concern about duplicate investigations. As the new bodies settle in, coordination of investigative authority between agencies is becoming a live issue. The next justice minister appears to have no shortage of tasks.