In a Facebook post on the 26th, Jeong noted that the National Assembly recently selected members of the third Truth and Reconciliation Commission, saying preparations for its launch were complete and calling on the Justice Ministry and prosecutors to take a hard look at themselves.
Jeong wrote that under the “Framework Act on Clearing Up Past Incidents for Truth and Reconciliation,” promulgated and put into force Feb. 5, the Assembly last Thursday elected 10 commissioners recommended by the legislature, completing the steps needed to start the third commission. He said the Justice Ministry and prosecutors “should not hesitate to reflect and change” in line with public demands to address “the errors and pain of the times.”
He said that since taking office, the Justice Ministry and prosecutors have actively acknowledged state responsibility in cases brought by victims and bereaved families of past state violence, including by giving up appeals in damages suits or supporting retrials. Correcting past prosecutorial wrongdoing, he said, is also part of a prosecutor’s role.
Still, Jeong said the legal maxim often attributed to English jurist Edward Coke — “justice delayed is justice denied” — weighs heavily. He offered an apology on behalf of the state to judicial victims and their families who, he said, suffered for a long time under the stigma of being labeled criminals.
Jeong said prosecutors face public criticism that Yoon, described as a former head of the prosecution, ignored political neutrality, moved directly into political power and, throughout his time in office, actively helped remove his political opponents. Jeong cited investigative practices revealed during a parliamentary probe into political cases, including “hundreds” of search-and-seizure operations, “more than 100” summonses of defendants, and permits allowing witnesses to enter to assist those summoned. As someone with more than 30 years in the legal field, Jeong said, such conduct is “hard to excuse.”
He said a prosecutor’s duty is to realize justice by pursuing the truth, and that observing due process is both a tool to prevent bias from distorting the truth and a constitutional requirement to protect citizens’ basic rights. If there is strong suspicion that prosecutors failed to follow due process, he said, prosecutors should investigate, uncover the truth and correct it to achieve justice.
Jeong said he sympathizes with the sense of loss and defeat felt by prosecutors who, he said, have faced a situation akin to organizational dismantlement because of the wrongdoing of some “political prosecutors.” But, he added, “we cannot stay here,” and prosecutors must also empathize with the public anger and the suffering of those affected under the previous administration because they are “prosecutors for the people,” the sovereign.
Jeong concluded that the Justice Ministry and prosecutors must not repeat “delayed justice,” and should confront and correct not only the mistakes of authoritarian governments decades ago but also wrongdoing that occurred more recently. If there were past wrongs, he said, they must be fully revealed and cut off. However painful, he added, pursuing truth and realizing justice are the foundation of prosecutors’ duty and existence, and the prosecution must be reborn as a guardian of justice.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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