Lee Yong-chul withholds stance on indictment withdrawal, saying 'I'll speak tomorrow'

Justice Minister nominee Lee Yong-chul withheld his position on the controversy surrounding the withdrawal of criminal charges against President Lee Jae-myung (a decision by prosecutors to retract a case already sent to trial). On his way to work at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, on the 10th, the nominee replied, "Tomorrow (the 11th), the hearing preparation team's office will likely be ready, and I'll speak then."

When reporters that day asked whether he intended to direct the withdrawal of the indictment, his stance on the special counsel investigating the allegedly fabricated indictment (a special prosecutor examining problems in the indictment process), and his assessment of the investigations into the Daejang-dong case and the Ssangbangwool remittances to North Korea, he did not give clear answers. Lee had originally been set to work at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration through the 11th and join the confirmation hearing preparation team starting on the 12th, but reports say he is considering moving up the schedule to report to the team for the first time on the 11th.

Lee also declined to directly address the controversy on his way to work the previous day. He responded to the effect that it is desirable to "focus solely on uncovering the truth and handle everything else according to law and principle."

Former Justice Minister Chung Sung-ho said, "Neither the Justice Ministry nor I conducted any review regarding the withdrawal of the indictment." Democratic Party Rep. Kim Seung-won, who was nominated as justice minister but stepped down, also dismissed the possibility, saying, "The justice minister has no direct authority to order the withdrawal of an indictment, and I have no intention of doing so through the prosecutor general."

Acting Prosecutor General Lee Jung-hyun faced similar questions. Regarding the possibility of dropping the indictment, he said on September 23, "The fact-finding team's investigation is still underway, so we will have to wait and see the results." At a National Assembly audit on October 22, Lee clarified that "I merely took the fundamental position that I would watch the results since the investigation was in progress, and I never reviewed dropping the indictment."