Justice minister nominee Han Dong-hoon steals the show

Justice Minister nominee Han Dong-hoon / Yonhap

Ruling party calls the nomination a prelude to Korea as the Republic of the Prosecution

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Justice Minister nominee Han Dong-hoon made news on Wednesday as President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol unveiled his second batch of Cabinet ministers.

Among the Cabinet minister nominees, he received the most questions from reporters and became the most sought-after new nominee of the day.

Yoon's selection of Han for justice minister was considered a shock to some.

Han, the vice president of the Judicial Research & Training Institute, is widely known as Yoon's closest aide in the prosecution service. Thus, it had been rumored that he would be tapped for "one of the key posts" in the prosecution service, such as the head of the Seoul Central Prosecution's Office, since Yoon was elected in the March 9 presidential race.

Unveiling his pick for justice minister on Wednesday, Yoon said that Han is a well-trained prosecutor with two decades of experiences in the justice ministry, as well as in the prosecution, mentioning his hope that Han might "modernize legal administration and establish a judicial system that meets global standards."

Yoon said he believes that the nominee is fully qualified for the post.

"He has experience not only in law enforcement but also in the area of legal administration. So, I came to a conclusion that he is the right person to take the job and (my nomination) is not a shock at all," he told reporters during a news conference to announce the list of second batch of Cabinet minister nominees at the Korea Banking Institute building in Seoul.

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"Thanks to his fluent English skills, he has a variety of international experience. I asked him to play a role to lift Korea's legal system to global standards based on his prior experiences, so the legal system can help assist the economy to grow," Yoon said.

Han was not shy about his credentials, showing confidence about the new role that he will assume once he gets the nod at the parliamentary hearing.

"South Korea is a dynamic country that has seen many representatives in their 20s and 30s in almost all fields. I have worked with the prosecution for over 20 years and if someone says a person like me doesn't fit for the job, I wonder who else can do it," he said.

When asked to comment on the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's initiative to pass a bill aimed at reforming Korea's prosecution system to separate its investigative and prosecution powers, Han said that it must be stopped.

"You see the entire nation is against the bill, except the DPK. People from all walks of life, lawyers, legal experts, civic group activists, all of them are opposing it. Even progressive civic groups are against it. Why do you think they are all against the bill?" he said. "It is apparent that the citizens will suffer the most once the bill gets the nod from the National Assembly. I think it must be stopped. I will tell you further details later."

Reining in Korea's powerful prosecution, where the prosecution has the authority both to investigate and prosecute, was an early priority of the Moon administration, but it began to become a contentious issue when Moon appointed Yoon as the prosecutor-general, and Yoon then launched probes into current president's aides.

Han's promotion was expected, as Yoon has openly praised Han's work ethic and professional skills as a prosecutor several times.

In a media interview in February, Yoon, then the presidential candidate of the main opposition People Power Party, likened Han to an independence fighter working hard on his mission against all odds.

"He worked under a lot of political pressure from the (Moon Jae-in) government when he investigated corruption scandals involving politicians, but he didn't back down. He deemed his role as a prosecutor as something akin to an independence fighter," said Yoon, noting thus Han will assume an important job if the prosecution is normalized.

When Yoon served as prosecutor general, Han became the youngest prosecutor to be promoted to a district attorney-level position.

Han's career hit its lowest point when Choo Mi-ae took the helm of the justice ministry during the Moon administration. He was forced to hand off the corruption investigations he was working on. He was then demoted several times during recent reshuffles.

Chang Je-won, Yoon's chief of staff, said that the president-elect was giving his favorite prosecutor "the pen, instead of the sword." In a social media post, Chang wrote that he understood that Yoon's nomination was causing quite a stir.

"It's well-known that he is President-elect Yoon's favorite. What Yoon likes is not Han himself but his capability as a prosecutor," he wrote. "So the president-elect gave his favorite prosecutor the pen to encourage him to withdraw the sword."

Yoon's pick, meanwhile, elicited a backlash from the ruling party. The DPK denounced Yoon's nomination of Han, saying that his choice is the prelude to Korea as "the Republic of the Prosecution," and that Yoon's "unthinkable choice" was a major shock.