Justice Minister Park Beom-kye answers questions in front of his office at the government complex in Gwacheon, south of Seoul, on March 22, 2021. (Yonhap)
Justice Minister Park Beom-kye on Monday expressed dismay over senior prosecutors' decision to close the alleged perjury case involving former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook, exposing a rift that has lingered for years between the ministry and the prosecution.
While accepting the outcome, Park criticized the decision as tantamount to "protecting their own family."
He said it is "questionable" if the meeting of prosecutors held to review the case properly reflected the intention and purpose of his invocation of investigation command.
The minister said he wanted the prosecutors to review full details of the case and have intense discussions before reaching a conclusion.
The country's high-ranking prosecutors met on Friday at the order of the minister to conduct a review of allegations that prosecutors forced some prison inmates to make false testimonies against Han in 2011 and decided to clear them of perjury charges.
Park's first exercise of his command authority, the fourth by a justice minister, came as questions had been raised over the dismissal earlier this month by the Supreme Prosecutors Office (SPO) of the charges against two witnesses and investigators allegedly implicated in the allegations, with the statute of limitations on the case set to expire on Monday.
Park also called for a probe to see if there was any "unreasonable decision-making" by investigators in dismissing the charges. (Yonhap)