Justice Minister Shortlist Narrowed to Park Geun-tae and Yang Boo-nam

It was confirmed on the 25th that President Lee Jae-myung has narrowed his shortlist for justice minister to two Democratic Party lawmakers from senior prosecutorial backgrounds: Park Geun-tae and Yang Boo-nam. A presidential official said on the 25th that "the president is deliberating between the two until the last minute," adding that things are moving quickly with the National Assembly audit set to wrap up next week.

Rep. Park's career is deeply intertwined with the president's. He served as legal adviser to the party chairman in 2022 while Lee was party leader, and worked as Lee's defense counsel in the Baekhyeon-dong and Seongnam FC cases. He has also voiced support for giving special prosecutors the power to withdraw indictments during discussions on a special prosecutor bill over prosecutorial fabrications of charges.

The justice minister post has been vacant for nearly two months since former Minister Chung Sung-ho stepped down on August 26. Rep. Kim Seung-won, nominated for the post on August 30, resigned just 20 days later on the 19th of last month, and the presidential office has since gone back to the drawing board on replacement candidates.