Na Kyung-won: “Dong-hoon Han was good at wielding a knife during the Moon Jae-in administration”… Dong-hoon Han: “Request to drop indictment, rejection is correct”

Han Dong-hoon is under fire for the controversy over the cancellation of the fast-track lawsuit
Han Dong-hoon refutes, “As Minister of Justice, I cannot decide to cancel the indictment”

In the televised debate of the People Power Party’s national convention, the controversy over the request for the cancellation of the fast-track prosecution became a hot topic. Candidate Na Kyung-won criticized candidate Han Dong-hoon, who revealed the request, saying, “I wonder if he is qualified to be a party member, let alone the party leader.”

The People Power Party held a debate for its party leader candidates at a televised debate held at the KBS Studio in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul on this day. Candidate Na, who was named as the target of a request in the previous debate, counterattacked Candidate Han. After Candidate Han revealed the fact of the request, there was opposition within the party, including lawmakers who were being tried for the fast-track case, and he asked, “Haven’t you changed your mind?” Candidate Han countered, “It’s not something the Minister of Justice can decide.”

Earlier, during a debate with candidate Na on CBS the previous morning, candidate Han revealed, “Didn’t I ask you to drop the indictment on my fast-track case? I said I couldn’t do that,” and “The Minister of Justice cannot intervene in specific matters in that way.” This issue later became a hot potato within the party, and candidate Han apologized on social media, saying, “I did not intend to disparage those suffering from the fast-track collision incident,” and “Those were unprepared words. I apologize for being careless.”

Candidate Na also criticized one candidate during the debate that day, saying that he has not yet “come out of the mold” of his days as a prosecutor. Regarding candidate Na’s rebuttal that he misunderstands the law, he mentioned that prosecutors are responsible for dropping indictments, but said, “The Minister of Justice has the authority to direct investigations in general cases, and in specific cases, he has the authority to direct investigations through the Prosecutor General.”

Afterwards, candidate Na pointed out that candidate Han had achieved results in investigating corruption during the Moon Jae-in administration, but under the current administration, his results were lacking in the investigation of former Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung. He said, “Candidate Han did not do what he should have done properly as the Minister of Justice, what he really should have done.” In the process, candidate Na criticized, “He did an incredible job as a prosecutor under the Moon Jae-in administration,” and “He was so sharp during the Moon Jae-in administration, but since our administration, he has not solved a single case that we are curious about. Have you ever ordered a proper investigation into the West Sea civil servant case or the forced repatriation case?” Candidate Han responded, “Of course I have,” but added, “(Such comments) could be misunderstood by the Democratic Party,” and “It could be misunderstood that the Minister of Justice has violated his duty of political neutrality by giving direction to a specific case.”

Candidate Won Hee-ryong criticized this issue, citing the issue of “comradeship.” Candidate Won said, “The minister is not simply a civil servant, but as a member of the State Council, he must share the president’s philosophy of state affairs and the political aspects of state affairs and make efforts for this,” and “However, the Minister of Justice was just an official who handled cases. Is this really a comradeship?”

One candidate countered, saying, “I misunderstood the duties of the Minister of Justice.” However, he mentioned that he had expressed an apology regarding this issue through SNS and other means, saying, “I should have considered the feelings of my fellow party members who are suffering as a fast track, but I was not careful.” However, he expressed his belief that “when I heard that as the Minister of Justice, I should have rejected it.”

<ⓒ투자가를 위한 경제콘텐츠 플랫폼, 아시아경제(www.asiae.co.kr) 무단전재 배포금지>