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🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

Justice Minister Nominee Kim Seung-won Says He Has No Authority or Intention to Drop Lee Jae-myung Case

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

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  • Justice minister nominee Kim Seung-won said he lacks direct authority to withdraw the prosecution in President Lee Jae-myung’s case.
  • He also said he does not intend to direct the prosecution service to do so through the prosecutor general.
  • Kim said individual prosecutors handling trials hold authority over maintaining prosecutions and that he would respect the law and due process as minister.

Justice minister nominee Kim Seung-won said he has neither the direct authority nor the intention to order the withdrawal of the prosecution in President Lee Jae-myung’s case.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday as he arrived at his confirmation-hearing preparation office in Seoul’s Jongno district, Kim said he would not direct the prosecutor general to take such action.

I do not have direct authority to withdraw the prosecution, and I have no intention of directing the prosecutor general to do so.

— Kim Seung-wonHe addressed whether the prosecution in President Lee Jae-myung’s case could be withdrawn.

“As a lawmaker, I conveyed the public view that the state should correct prosecutions fabricated through illegal investigations,” Kim said. “As a nominee for justice minister, I will follow the law and principles.”

Kim added that the prosecutor handling an individual trial has authority over whether to maintain the prosecution. He said he would respect that authority and had no current plan to exercise direction through the prosecutor general.

As a nominee for justice minister, I will follow the law and principles.

— Kim Seung-wonHe distinguished his comments as a lawmaker from his responsibilities as a ministerial nominee.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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