Lee Yong-cheol says too early to answer before special counsel probe into alleged prosecutorial misconduct begins
Justice Minister nominee Lee Yong-cheol declined Thursday to say whether he would direct the prosecutor general to seek the withdrawal of charges against President Lee Jae Myung if a special counsel investigation found that prosecutors had abused their authority.
The planned investigation has revived debate over the fate of the five criminal trials in which the president is a defendant, all of which have been put on hold since he took office in June 2025.
The nominee, who heads the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, spoke to reporters as he arrived for a second day at the Seoul Immigration Office in Songpa-gu, where preparations are underway for his parliamentary confirmation hearing.
He said it was premature to answer a question that assumed what the special counsel would find.
A day earlier, Lee Yong-cheol said he was not a member of the group advocating the withdrawal of the president’s charges. He said the priority was to establish the facts and that any further steps should follow the law and established principles.
Former Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho said he had never considered withdrawing the charges, while Kim Seung-won, the previous nominee, said he would not direct their withdrawal.
Which cases could be affected?
The National Assembly passed the special counsel bill on Nov. 6. Lawmakers removed provisions that would have allowed the special counsel to request the transfer of existing cases and decide whether to continue prosecuting them.
The presidential office said the Cabinet would take up the bill on Nov. 17.
Three of the president’s five criminal cases remain at the first-instance stage. One combines allegations of favors to private developers in Daejang-dong, Wirye and Baekhyeon-dong in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, with bribery allegations involving donations to soccer team Seongnam FC.
The other two concern alleged misuse of a Gyeonggi Province corporate credit card and allegations that Lee, as governor, arranged for Ssangbangwool’s chairman to pay $8 million to North Korea for a provincial agricultural project and a planned visit.
Article 255 of the Criminal Procedure Act allows prosecutors to withdraw charges before a first-instance verdict.
Under Article 9 of the Public Prosecution Service Act, the justice minister may issue directions in individual cases only to the prosecutor general. Whether that authority can be used to have the president’s charges withdrawn is disputed.
Opposition objections
The main opposition People Power Party on Thursday called on the nominee to clarify his position.
Chief spokesperson Choi Bo-yoon pointed to his long-standing ties with the president, saying the two had worked at the same law firm and that the nominee had served on Lee’s transition committee in Seongnam before heading the city-affiliated Seongnam Industry Promotion Agency.
Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok also alleged that the nominee had argued that prosecutors used coercive methods in a murder and arson case.
The nominee’s team said his firm had listed him as defense counsel and that he had no substantive role in the case.
Other criticisms
In 2004, while serving as a presidential secretary for legal affairs at Cheong Wa Dae, Lee applied for compensation under a program for victims of the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising, citing his 40-day detention after leading a student protest in Seoul.
The compensation committee rejected his application in 2005. He challenged the decision in court, and the ruling against him became final in 2006. His confirmation team said it was difficult to explain the circumstances given how much time had passed.
Lee was also listed as defense counsel in a 2003 attempted rape case in which the court dismissed the charges. He said he had no substantive role in that defense.
The Korean Bar Association expressed concern about judging lawyers’ qualifications by the cases they take, citing defendants’ right to counsel.
Separately, a court found in 2015 that Lee had violated the Labor Standards Act by imposing an excessive pay cut on an employee while heading the Seongnam agency.
The court deferred the imposition of a 700,000 won ($530) fine for the violation. Lee said he regretted failing to examine the relevant rules more carefully.
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