▲ Youngsoo Jang is a professor at Korea University. ⓒ Seongho Yoo
“The Moon Jae-in government’s prosecution reform is evaluated as a failure.”
Jang Young-soo, a professor at Korea University Law School (constitution major), was clear. He diagnosed the direction of the Moon Jae-in government’s prosecutorial reform as ‘minus the power of the prosecution’, and evaluated that it did not achieve the purpose of prosecutorial reform. He pointed out, “I don’t like the look of the prosecution, so it seems only to neutralize the prosecution. I can’t say it’s the right policy.”
He also strongly criticized the Moon Jae-in administration’s active use of the prosecution’s personnel powers. In the Moon Jae-in administration, there have been several controversies over the demotion of prosecutors who conducted government investigations. He pointed out, “It was like asking for a biased investigation rather than the objectivity and fairness of the investigation by saying ‘don’t touch our people’.” Professor Jang’s evaluation of the Airlift Service was also a failing point.
He also pointed out the ‘national situation’, which was a watershed in the reform of the prosecution. Regarding the claim that the prosecution had launched an investigation into the country to thwart the prosecution reform of the Minister of Justice, he said, “It was true that[the former minister’s family]was illegal. If I say that, who will understand?” he asked.
Professor Jang did not spare a bitter voice against the president-elect Yoon Seok-yeol. Kim Oh-soo, a prosecutor general of the People’s Power National Assembly member Kwon Seong-dong, a close aide to Yoon-elect, said “it’s wrong” to pressure him to resign. In addition, he said that it is undesirable for prosecutors of the ‘Yun Seok-Yeol Division’ to occupy a large number of key positions in the prosecution. However, regarding President-elect Yoon’s prediction of the middle position of Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon, who was closest to him during his time as a candidate, he said, “The people will be satisfied with the level of the Central Prosecutor’s Office.” However, it was somewhat negative about ‘Prosecutor General Han Dong-hoon’.
He saw the independence of personnel as the key to strengthening the independence of the prosecution and political neutrality. He explained that it is necessary to appoint a prosecutor-general who can accommodate the opposition, and to let the president exercise his powers. When asked if he thinks President-elect Yoon would do that, he laughed and replied, “It’s not a question that can be predicted.”
The interview with Professor Jang Young-soo was held at his Korea University office on the afternoon of the 17th. He is sometimes classified as a conservative scholar in that he has criticized the Moon Jae-in government’s prosecution reform. Professor Jang said, “Depending on the situation, people see me as a liberal or a conservative.” He said, “I spoke critically about what was wrong during the Park Geun-hye administration and the Moon Jae-in administration, and I think that is my role.”
[문재인 정부 검찰개혁 평가] “Relegation of the government investigative prosecutor … Requesting a biased investigation”
▲ Professor Jang Young-soo evaluates the Moon Jae-in government’s prosecution reform as “failure” ⓒ Seongho Yoo
A distinctive feature of the Moon Jae-in administration’s prosecutorial reforms is the decentralization of the prosecution’s powers and the creation of a prosecutor-checking mechanism. Through the adjustment of the prosecutor’s and prosecutor’s authority, it tried to change from the German-French-style prosecutor’s system in which the prosecution leads the investigation and prosecution to the British-American system in which the investigative and prosecuting powers are separated. In addition, the Crime Investigation Office for High-Level Officials (Public Investigation Office) was created 20 years after the demand for introduction.
Professor Jang said, “‘Less the power of the prosecution’ cannot be the goal of prosecutorial reform. The goal of prosecutorial reform should be to make the investigation fair and catch criminals without abuse of authority or human rights violations.” “The fact that the People’s Power candidate is elected president reflects the public’s perception that such reforms are wrong,” he said.
– The ruling party did not stop at adjusting the prosecutors and police investigation authority, but pushed for the ‘complete abolition of the prosecutor’s investigation authority’ (complete inspection). This led to the result of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol’s resignation as president in March 2021.
“After the conflict with President Yoon Seok-yeol,[the ruling party]turned to the side of the prosecution. The fact that they adjusted the police investigation authority on their own and asked to overthrow it within a few months only seemed to incapacitate the prosecution because they didn’t want to look like the prosecution. I can’t say it’s the right policy.”
– The side effects of excessive investigations by the prosecution in the past were great, and for this reason, the voices calling for the separation of the investigative and prosecuting powers have grown.
“An English-American system is possible in the direction of prosecutorial reform, but thorough preparation is required. Otherwise, the side effects will inevitably be bigger. If you keep trying to do it emotionally, problems arise. becomes a dinosaur, the autonomous police system cannot be an alternative. There is no answer on how to solve the problem of concentrating police authority on the national police.”
The subject turned to the prosecution’s personnel authority. The Moon Jae-in administration considered prosecutors from the Yoon Seok-yeol division to occupy key positions in the prosecution in order to empower Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol. However, after the prosecution’s investigation into the regime, including the ‘fatherland situation’, the prosecutors were largely demoted. Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon is a prime example.
– In the Moon Jae-in administration, there have been many controversies over the appointment of the prosecution.
“Creating a prosecutor who listens to the public should not be the goal of prosecutorial reform. In that sense, trying to hire people who can listen through personnel is the wrong way in the eyes of the people.”
– Prosecutors who investigated the Ministry of Environment’s blacklist case in the early days of the Moon Jae-in administration were relegated, and it was pointed out that prosecutors who started investigating the regime were at a disadvantage.
“It was like asking for a biased investigation rather than the objectivity and fairness of the investigation, saying, ‘Don’t touch our people.’
– ‘The Fatherland Situation’ was a watershed in the Moon Jae-in administration’s prosecution reform. There are claims that the prosecution has launched an investigation into the country in an attempt to thwart the reform of the prosecution led by former Justice Minister Cho Kuk.
“Let’s judge the facts first. There was no illegality in the former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk (and his family), if we put it that way, it would be correct. But the illegality was true. Who would understand if it was a mistake? If you do it this way, the people will be more outraged.”
[공수처 평가] “An institution that does not trust the people is difficult to sustain for long.”
The topic soon led to the evaluation of the Airborne Service. Professor Jang Young-soo said, “People’s evaluation is very low,” and “Institutions that people do not trust are difficult to sustain.” In particular, he strongly criticized the political bias of the Airborne Service.
– Director Kim Jin-wook was a recommended person by the Korean Bar Association, and the first case of the Ministry of Public Transport was the progressive-minded Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of Education in Seoul. Why is the Airborne Service evaluated as politically biased?
“Originally, the opposition party’s veto power in the nomination committee for the Minister of Airborne Affairs was there, but the Democratic Party has removed it. Think of electing the next Minister of Airborne Affairs. The power of the people holds the hilt. And the Ministry of Airborne Affairs continued to hold on to the case of Yoon Seok-yeol during the presidential election. It was neither investigated nor sent to other agencies.”
The Ministry of Airborne Affairs has initiated an investigation into the four cases of Yoon Seok-yeol, but has not reached a conclusion on the remaining three cases, except for the ‘suspected obstruction of investigation by former Prime Minister Han Myung-sook’s perjury teacher’.
– The case of the alleged accuser, which had a big impact, has not yet been concluded. Considering that the arrest warrant for Prosecutor Son Jun-seong requested by the Public Security Service was rejected by the court twice, it is not a matter of political bias, but of investigative ability.
“Rather than lack of investigative ability, the problem is not making decisions and taking time. We should have ended up with no charges or found evidence, but this is neither that nor that, and it continues to waste time. What is the intention? In a situation where there is a suspicion of large-scale movement, suspicions keep coming up that he received such an order, ‘Don’t close (the case) because there must be some suspicion of accusation on the side of Candidate Yoon Seok-yeol.”
He pointed out that this political bias, as well as the fact that the organization is small enough to not properly investigate crimes of high-ranking officials, and the discord with other investigative agencies are also problems of the Air Service. He added, “The recent media inspection controversy is a big problem as it is outside the scope of the Ministry of Airlift and Security.
– President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol said that he would reform the Airborne Service during his candidacy. How do you see the reform of the air traffic control system going?
“The reform bill of the Air Transport Service is a matter that requires revision of the law, so there must be consultation and compromise between the ruling party and the opposition (in the Yun Seok-yeol administration). The Democratic Party is more urgent to come up with a reform plan. Will you side with the power) or the opposition (Democratic Party)? The Democratic Party has to come up with a reform plan first.”
[윤석열 정부 전망] “Pressing Kim Oh-soo to resign is wrong”
▲ Youngsoo Jang is a professor at Korea University. ⓒ Seongho Yoo
President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol made a promise to strengthen the independence and political neutrality of the prosecution during his time as a candidate. However, recently, controversy arose when Kwon Seong-dong, a member of the People’s Power National Assembly, called ‘Yun Hak-kwan’ (a key person in Yoon Seok-yeol’s side) pressed for the resignation of Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo. With more than one year remaining in President Oh-soo Kim’s legal term of office, the pressure to resign was criticized as being inconsistent with the promises of President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol.
– How did you see the pressure of President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol’s side to resign as Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo?
“I think it’s wrong. In order to strengthen the independence and political neutrality of the prosecution, the prosecutor general’s hearings and the term system are important. There are more unsatisfied presidents than those who have filled in. If the same is repeated even after Yoon Seok-yeol became president, only evaluations such as ‘you can’t do anything’ or ‘are you trying to plant your own people after talking about the independence of the prosecution?’ .”
– Did the president-elect Yoon Seok-yeol’s intentions reflect the pressure to resign as Prosecutor General Oh-su Kim?
“You have to watch.”
– President Yoon Seok-yeol made a promise to abolish the Justice Minister’s authority to direct the investigation of the Prosecutor General. In this regard, there is an opinion that the democratic control mechanism disappears.
“The Justice Minister is a politician, unlike the Prosecutor General. What did Justice Minister Park Beom-gye say? He said, ‘Before being the Justice Minister, he was a member of the ruling party.’ It has never been exercised like the Moon Jae-in administration. When politicians intervene in investigations, there are only bad precedents, no good precedents.”
– President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol was controversial when he compared Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon to an independence activist and made remarks to foretell the middle ground. Prosecutors from the ‘Yun Seok-Yeol Division’ are expected to occupy key positions in the prosecution.
“For example, Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon goes to the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office? It may be to that extent. However, it is not desirable for the Yoon Seok-yeol division to occupy all the key positions after all the water changes. Don’t use any (Prosecutor Yoon Seok-yeol’s division) at all? It won’t be possible.”
– Do you think it’s okay for Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon to go to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office?
“There is a high probability that the majority of the people will accept that that is okay.”
Prof. Jang Young-soo has argued that the key to independence and neutrality of the prosecution is the independence of personnel, in which the prosecutor-general takes the lead in appointing the prosecution. He pointed out, “It’s no use having someone who can act according to the president’s wishes sit in the prosecutor’s office.”
“In order to appoint a new prosecutor general in the future, it must pass a personnel hearing at the National Assembly dominated by the opposition party (Democratic Party). It is not desirable to have a person who gives the impression of something like this.” Rather than Prosecutor General Han Dong-hoon, the president should be a moderate person whom the opposition can understand and the people can sympathize with.”
– If personnel independence is achieved, wouldn’t it be impossible to control it even if the prosecution conducts unreasonable investigations?
“It is undesirable for the Blue House’s intentions to be reflected in the personnel appointments of the prosecution through the Minister of Justice. Through the personnel hearings, the prosecutor general becomes an acceptable person in the opposition, and if that person is exercising his/her authority, there will be far fewer problems. You can’t completely ignore the Justice Minister or the Blue House, but it’s better than actually greeting them from there (the Blue House and the Justice Minister).
– President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol never spoke clearly about personnel independence. Do you think you will?
“It’s not a matter that can be foreseen. However, I was just stating the opinion that it is desirable.”
