Jung Sung-ho: "No Intention to Direct Indictment Withdrawal as Justice Minister... Baffled and Absurd"

Minister Jung Denies 'Indictment Withdrawal Deal' Allegations

"Not Even Worth Discussing... Call for Prosecution's Reflection Was to Emphasize Human Rights Protection in Cases Like the Busan Kick Case"

Jung Sung-ho, Minister of Justice, responded to the recent allegations of a "deal to drop charges against President Lee Jaemyung" by saying, "I am bewildered and find it absurd. As Minister, I have absolutely no intention of directing the withdrawal of prosecution." He flatly denied accusations that there had been any attempt to exchange the maintenance of supplementary investigative authority for the prosecution with the withdrawal of charges in the President's case.

Jung Sung-ho, Minister of Justice. Photo by Yonhap News

On March 11, speaking with reporters as he was leaving the Gwacheon Government Complex, Minister Jung was asked about his position on these allegations. He dismissed them, stating, "It is strange in itself to link the authority for supplementary investigation with the withdrawal of charges against the President, and such a claim is highly inappropriate and unrealistic."

Regarding the necessity of dropping charges in the President's case, he said, "By law, it is something a prosecutor may decide, but as Minister, I have absolutely no intention or position to direct such an action, nor do I even entertain the idea." He added, "It is an issue not even worth discussing."

Minister Jung also mentioned the possibility that this allegation may have been distorted during his communication with frontline prosecutors after taking office. He explained, "I have consistently told everyone from chief prosecutors to junior prosecutors, 'To gain public trust, you must change and reflect,' and 'Even if things are unsettled due to prosecutorial reform, you must faithfully carry out your duties.' The claim that I secretly conveyed a particular message is completely baseless and preposterous."

He also refuted interpretations suggesting that his mention of 'prosecutorial reflection' was in reference to the President's case. Minister Jung cited examples such as the Jeju 4·3 Incident, the espionage fabrication retrial cases, and the 'Busan roundhouse kick case,' explaining, "If the state or investigative authorities caused harm through wrongful investigations, of course there should be reflection, and the prosecution should be reborn to broadly guarantee the basic rights of the people."

Regarding the ongoing discussions about maintaining the prosecution's supplementary investigative authority and amending the Criminal Procedure Act, he said, "As the President stated, it is not important to strip all powers from the prosecution; what is essential is to prevent innocent victims or suspects from arising during investigations."

Minister Jung emphasized, "I hope reasonable citizens will make sound judgments," and added, "I sincerely hope that these baseless suspicions do not derail the truly important discussions on prosecutorial reform."

Previously, on a YouTube program hosted by broadcaster Kim Eo-jun, a former journalist claimed, "A high-ranking government official, who can only be seen as one of President Lee's closest aides, recently conveyed the message 'drop the charges in President Lee's case' to several senior prosecutors," and added, "The prosecution will think, 'the Lee Jaemyung administration wants to make a deal with us.'"

Earlier that day, Minister Jung also wrote on his personal social media account, "I have never spoken to prosecutors about dropping charges in any particular case. This is an absurd conspiracy theory."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.