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President Moon Jae-in speaks one on one to Sohn Suk-hee, a journalist with JTBC, at the Blue House on April 14. (provided by the Blue House)

President Moon Jae-in once again expressed his belief that prosecutors should be held in check, saying Monday that “it’s only natural to consider democratic ways to control the prosecution service, as it can easily become an almighty force.” Still, regarding the Democratic Party’s push to pass a bill that would strip prosecutors of their authority to conduct investigations, Moon said he wouldn’t comment, avoiding giving a direct answer.

During an interview with former anchor Sohn Suk-hee that aired on JTBC Monday night, Moon was asked whether he thought the prosecution service had issues, to which he replied that “the politicization of the prosecution service is the first problem.”

Moon went on, saying, “When it comes to the wrongdoings of the prosecution service itself, which cannot be punished unless prosecutors prosecute them, every citizen knows that their prosecution rate is just over 0.1%.”

He continued, “There are no such [restraining] devices against the prosecution service, and while the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials is available, its power is still very weak.”

When Sohn asked whether the prosecution has always been an absolute power, Moon asked in return, “Hasn’t [it] been an absolute power now and again?”

Adding that such a view “seems to be common sense in South Korea,” Moon went on to show his distrust of the agency, saying, “Aren’t we trying to achieve the political neutrality of the prosecution service by not interfering with it politically and allowing it to become independent? But if that happens, will the prosecution break away from being a political agency and become depoliticized? Past history has shown that that would not be the case.”

Of note, Moon said regarding justice minister nominee Han Dong-hoon’s statement that he would “prevent the complete deprivation of the prosecution’s authority to investigate by all means” that “the expression itself is dangerous.”

Moon said, “As the minister of justice, and especially as someone who served in the prosecution service for a long time, it would be possible for [Han] to say that he doesn’t agree with prosecutorial reforms that would strip the prosecution of its investigative authority, or that [such reforms] should come after an adequate procedure, but it’s extremely inappropriate to use such expressions like ‘I will prevent or hinder [such reforms] at all costs.’”

Regarding Han’s stance that he made the statement in the spirit of “preventing any harm against the people,” Moon said, “One cannot use the people as an easy excuse.”

“To speak of the people in true earnestness, one must have agonized [about them] to an incredible degree,” he continued, turning his criticism up a notch by saying, “Justice in South Korea cannot be monopolized by a certain subset of individuals.”

Moon made his views on the prosecution service clear through his statement regarding the probe against former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk as well. When asked why he thinks the prosecution conducted such an intensive investigation against Cho, Moon said, “I can’t make a careless judgment [on the matter], as the current at the time was led by the incoming president.” Still, he continued, “The timing and the investigation method used were opportune in large part, so it can be said that [the probe] was motivated by objectives and intentions, and I won’t make a definitive statement.”

However, in regard to his supporters and the Democratic Party making statements along the lines of “Moon should be protected [from the prosecution],” Moon said they were “for the election.” When Sohn asked whether he didn’t care much about such views, Moon asked in return, “Who would come to protect me?”

On concerns that the prosecution service is closing in on him by raiding the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and other affiliated organizations, Moon said, “[The prosecution] has behaved in such a way many times in the past, so suspicions that it will do so may exist, but as an inspection agency, [it] has to investigate if it has investigative clues, so it seems inappropriate for me to say something about [such concerns].”

By Lee Wan, staff reporter

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