Kim Hyun, former president of the Korean Bar Association, met with the Hankook Ilbo at the Sechang conference room of a law firm in Seocho-dong, Seoul on the 22nd and said, “It is a natural concern” about the speculation that the investigation into the elected person and those around him will not be futile. must,” he said. By Wang Tae-seok, senior staff reporter
Conflicts between old and new powers continue during the regime takeover period. Following the battle over the nomination of the governor of the Bank of Korea before the relocation of the presidential office, on the 24th, the Ministry of Justice was excluded from the report due to the conflict over prosecutorial reform. President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol, who emerged as a presidential candidate with an image of resistance to power and won the presidency, pledged to strengthen the prosecution power in opposition to the Moon Jae-in administration’s prosecution reform. He even mentioned “abolition” of the high-ranking official’s criminal investigation department.
However, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, which has a majority seat, is showing its will to complete prosecution reform by completely separating investigations and prosecutions before the new government is launched. It is clear that the conflict between the ruling and opposition parties over prosecutorial reform will grow again. I met Kim Hyun, CEO of Sechang Law Firm, who served as the president of the Korean Bar Association until 2019, and heard about the evaluation of prosecutorial reform and the tasks of the elected president.
– How do you evaluate the prosecution reform of the Moon Jae-in administration?
“It was a period of regression of the judiciary and the prosecution that was not before. Until then, good judges had formed the upper echelons of the courts and struggled to make the right decisions. Prosecutors are usually those who have a sense of justice, and the best prosecutor among them is also the Prosecutor General. However, over the past five years, the second-class has driven out the first-class. That is why the presidents of the Bar Association issued statements critical of prosecutors during the time of Minister Choo Mi-ae. You have to heal those wounds. I think the results of this election also include dissatisfaction with the current administration’s judicial policy.”
– There are many criticisms of the Airborne Service, which has been in operation for over a year.
“It is disappointing to see the past. From members to investigative abilities and political bias, there are not one or two problems. First of all, the philosophy of the Minister of Airborne Affairs is not clear. At this point, I couldn’t properly show why the airlift station should exist and what kind of attitude it should have. The Airborne Service exists to investigate corruption in high-ranking public officials. This is not to investigate journalists or opposition politicians. Now, the airborne service seems to have different interests. There must have been a lot of disrespect for high-ranking officials, but such investigation efforts were not seen and energy was wasted on non-essential issues. The investigative capacity was limited due to the lack of experience of the members, including the head of the department.”
-Didn’t you support the establishment of a public service agency when you were the president of the Bar Association?
“I didn’t expect it to work like this. At the time, there was an atmosphere in which the prosecution was under intense criticism, and there was a problem with the adjustment of the police and investigation authority, and if the situation was unavoidable, the Airborne Service would accept it. Public opinion was like that. It would be unreasonable to oppose all of the government’s reform policies, so the Ministry of Airborne Affairs thought that passive support would be better, but looking back now, I regret that I should have opposed it more strongly at that time.”
– Yoon Seok-yeol’s promise in the judicial field is to strengthen the prosecution power. He said that he would remove the authority to request an investigation transfer to the Airborne Service.
“If the investigation of high-ranking public officials by the prosecution and the police is turned over as a request for the Airborne Service, the investigation by the police and police will be in vain. In addition, the Airborne Service, which may be subject to political influence, may take the case and cover it up. Ultimately, the problem is living power. The Airborne Service is an organization that the president can influence, so it is difficult to objectively and confidently investigate.”
– In terms of the possibility that political power will have a structural influence, isn’t it more common in the case of the prosecution, where the president directly appoints the head?
“Since the prosecution has 2,000 members, the prosecutor general cannot control them all. In the actual investigation process, the sense of justice and balance of individual prosecutors plays an important role. More than 70% of the examiners believe they have the right posture. The Airborne Service has a small number of people, has no investigation experience, and lacks self-esteem, but the prosecution is not. It is a matter of choice whether to become a prosecutor who listens to the government for five years or to go to the side of the people forever, but most prosecutors choose the latter, which is a long and highly successful one.”
– The Airborne Service has been in operation for over a year now. Legally, there is a limit to securing manpower. Isn’t it unreasonable to compare side by side with the prosecution?
“Prosecutors often find power corruption related to corporate investigations. It is not easy to suddenly find out about power corruption on your own. The Air Traffic Control Agency has 25 people and does not conduct corporate investigations, so how can they get information on corruption of high-ranking officials? Structurally, we have no choice but to rely on the Blue House’s undercover investigation and external accidental reports or accusations. It is questionable whether or not it will become the level of the prosecution as time goes by, as excellent talents do not go to the airborne police station.”
– The prosecutor-elect said that he would change the direct investigation authority of the prosecution, which was limited to six major crimes by adjusting the investigative power, to ‘a direct supplementary investigation by the prosecutor after sentencing’. Logically, all investigative powers will be given to the prosecution again.
“The results of the adjustment of the police investigation authority are also not satisfactory. I often hear from lawyers around me in charge of criminal cases that the quality and performance of investigations deteriorate after the adjustment of the investigative powers. less ready In addition, the fact that there are 100,000 police officers with strong information gathering ability and the right to close investigations right next to the people is a great threat to the people’s basic rights. Prosecution reform had a strong purpose in order to take away the power of the prosecution by the government, which had a prejudice against the prosecution rather than the interests of the people. It’s not always a good idea to refresh. It takes courage to try it or go back to the beginning.”
– The abolition of the Minister of Justice’s right to direct investigation is also a factor in conflict. Is it desirable to abolish the investigative powers?
“The justice minister is a political official appointed by the president, so it is highly likely that he will lean on power. Prosecutors, on the other hand, are public officials specializing in investigations. It’s your job to uncover the problematic case, and you can earn your reputation as a result. It is not desirable for the Minister to intervene in the investigation process. Past ministers rarely exercised their investigative command, but it is something to reflect on that this administration has exercised it three times.”
– The right to command investigation has been in place since the enactment of the Prosecutor’s Office Act with the purpose of democratically controlling the prosecution, which has powerful powers. Isn’t it too much to abolish the system that has been in existence for over 70 years because the recent exercise of authority is a problem?
“If it is a bad means, it should be eliminated, and it is not something that should be left as it is. When the Minister said that only the Prosecutor General could lead the investigation, he meant that the Prosecutor General should prevent drafts and coordinate with each other to that extent. I’ve done it so far, but it’s been too harsh under this administration. Better to get rid of this so that it doesn’t happen again in the future. Who knows if the new government will change. We have no choice but to trust the system, not the people.”
– Then how do you control the prosecution?
“Intensifying inspection is one way. Currently, the focus is on internal inspection, but external inspection is supplementing this. It is worthwhile to use it as a means of monitoring the prosecution by excluding those from the prosecution and creating an external inspection body with neutral personnel such as lawyers, academia, and the media.”
– The elected person said that he would allow the prosecution’s budget to be organized by itself.
“There are many lawyers who say that it is necessary to organize the budget independently in order to fully preserve the independence of the prosecution and the political neutrality of the investigation. In a situation where the Justice Minister and the Prosecutor General are in conflict, as in recent times, the Ministry of Justice may unreasonably intervene in budgeting, and it is desirable to rule out such a possibility.”
– Many of the tasks of the new government, such as the abolition of the right to transfer the airlift service, require revision of the law. Is it possible in the Yeosoya University National Assembly?
“If the Democratic Party becomes the opposition, the mood can change. The Ministry of Airborne Affairs may also investigate the National Assembly. The opposition is not free either. Unlike the past five years, if the prosecution gains power again, they will be prosecuted according to strict legal standards, and there will be cases in which they will be deprived of their parliamentary seats through trial. In fact, there are not many lawmakers involved in the Political Fund Act or the Election Act. It takes time. Wouldn’t it be possible to change your mind if you realize that the Democratic Party has become the opposition party a year later and actually face the prosecution or the investigation of the Airborne Service?”
– However, the emergency response committee formed by the Democratic Party after the election is emphasizing the completion of prosecution reform.
“It does not fit the trend of the times and is just a slogan to read the inside after the election. As it is a non-submissive level declaration, the political weight is not too great. If a new representative is appointed and the system is normalized, I think it will make a realistic and helpful decision. I hope that we will go in the right direction for the protection of the people’s basic rights by calmly reviewing what has been the prosecution reform so far and reflecting on it.”
-At the time of the prosecutor’s office, the elected person showed that he could use his aides to the prosecutor’s office.
“If you are president, you have to be different. I can understand the desire to hire someone you can trust, but if you do that, you will become dissatisfied within the organization and the public will not approve of it. I would advise you to use only 1/3 of those close to you, 1/3 of those who oppose you, and 1/3 of those who are in the middle. You have to carry all 2,000 prosecutors. Prosecutor fraud is no longer a joke. You have to read extensively and create an atmosphere to work.”
– As soon as I was elected, there was pressure to leave Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo.
“It is a dilemma to guarantee a tenure system after a change of government and to entrust the head of the organization to a competent and respected person. It is important to keep the office of the Attorney General, but it is even more important to entrust it to someone who is competent, trusted, and willing to stand up to power. There is no right answer, it is a matter of judging which one is more important for the benefit of the people and choosing it.”
– The elected person and his wife’s family are involved in various investigations. There is also concern that such an investigation may be futile with the election of the president.
“It is a natural concern. Prosecutors are also civil servants, so they can’t help but keep an eye on the living power. Ultimately, it was up to the prosecutor’s personal and professional conscience. Proper prosecutors should conduct investigations according to laws and principles, regardless of power. Fortunately, many prosecutors are reliable.”
Kim Bum-soo editorial member bskim@hankookilbo.com
