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Han Dong-hoon, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s pick for justice minister, stands during Yoon’s announcement of Cabinet appointments at the office of the presidential transition committee in Seoul on April 13. (pool photo)

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s choice of Han Dong-hoon as his justice minister nominee is prompting criticism from those within the People Power Party and the larger conservative camp, who are calling the appointment incomprehensible as it pertains to national unity and cooperative governance.

It’s an unprecedented move of favoritism based on personal relations, but more than that, it’s already prompting predictions that Yoon hopes Han, his right-hand man and closest associate, will play a role much more significant than that of justice minister, and may even go so far as to actually assigning Han such a role.

Yoon’s justice minister pick may be forewarning the emergence of a super-Cabinet member — one who makes judgments on general state affairs as a Cabinet member, keeps watch over the ruling party and public officials based on the transfer of the senior presidential secretary’s function, and acts as the de facto prosecutor general as an investigation-savvy justice minister who wields actual political influence. The Democratic Party is pronouncing Han as the “second-in-command of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration” and planning to focus its efforts on Han’s confirmation hearing.

By tapping Han to be his justice minister, Yoon has established an avenue through which he can naturally contact and communicate with his other close associates before and after Cabinet meetings, which take place every week. If Yoon had appointed Han to lead inspection agencies, such as the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, it would have been difficult for the two to directly communicate, as that would have led to serious political and judicial repercussions. But, by appointing Han as a Cabinet member, Yoon evaded such potential controversy while simultaneously opening up a lawful pathway to regularly keep an eye on the situation and information available within the prosecution service.

Plus, it’s likely that Yoon will ask Han his opinion and judgment on state affairs in general. During his time investigating the crimes of the powerful with Yoon, Han was known for his skillful ability to make decisions on when to disclose what about ongoing investigations to the public. Those within the prosecution service and beyond say Han’s political sensibility, along with his ability to investigate, is what enabled the prosecution to win fight after fight against some of the most powerful people in South Korea, from former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, to former Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong.

A chief prosecutor with a Seoul prosecutors’ office said, “Han is someone who’s considered to make quick, accurate judgments even within the prosecution service. Just as he did while he was a prosecutor, Yoon will constantly share opinions with Han when the new administration is making important decisions.”

The fact that Yoon intends to get rid of the position of the senior presidential secretary for civil affairs also indicates that Han will play a significant role as Korea’s justice minister. The senior presidential secretary for civil affairs has been responsible for vetting and running background checks on candidates for high-ranking official roles, in addition to keeping track of political trends. Yoon promised during his campaign that he would transfer these functions to the Ministry of Justice and the police, following the model in the US, where the Federal Bureau of Investigation fulfills such roles. If the civil affairs secretary position is abolished, the power of the justice minister is bound to grow.

Prosecutors of the so-called “Yoon Suk-yeol line,” who were pushed out of key investigative divisions during the second half of the Moon Jae-in administration are still alive and well within the prosecution service. This is why some say Han may become the “de facto prosecutor general” of the Yoon administration on top of being justice minister. Prosecutors have mentioned the precedent set by Kim Kyung-han, who served as the Lee Myung-bak administration’s first justice minister. At the time, Kim wielded significant influence as a minister, seemingly commanding the prosecution service’s personnel matters and investigations with the backing of the Blue House. Because of this, Kim was sometimes referred to within the prosecution service as “Prosecutor General Kim.”

Lim Chae-jin, who served as a prosecutor general during Kim’s term as justice minister, revealed upon retiring from the position that he received multiple unofficial investigative directions from Kim, which stirred controversy. Regarding his nomination, Han said that he “will not be invoking [the justice minister’s] power to direct investigations,” and that “what prosecutors need to do is catch bad guys” — in other words, his statement still leaves open the possibility that he may unofficially direct investigations via the Yoon Suk-yeol line, though not officially on paper.

During a party meeting for policy coordination held Thursday, Democratic Party floor leader Park Hong-keun said regarding Han, “The Yoon administration’s second-in-command, [Han is] an omen of influence-peddling in the hands of a mini-president acting as the president’s gatekeeper. [He] should be completely excised before [he] becomes a tumor.”

Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Eung-cheon also said during a radio interview with MBC, “[Han] will become a kingly minister who also serves as the senior presidential secretary for civil affairs.”

MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society and the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy both demanded that Yoon retract his appointment of Han as justice minister, calling the move “an attempt to bring back the prosecutors’ republic.”

By Kim Kyung-wook, staff reporter

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