Lee weighs two ex-prosecutors for justice minister

President Lee Jae Myung is considering two former prosecutors who are now lawmakers for justice minister after his previous pick for the post withdrew his candidacy last month over lobbying allegations, a source at the presidential office said Sunday.

Rep. Park Kyoon-taek and Rep. Yang Bu-nam of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) are the candidates Lee is reviewing for justice minister, a source at Blue House told Yonhap News Agency.

“After lengthy deliberation, Lee is reviewing the choice between Park and Yang. An official nomination is expected to be made soon,” the source said.

In a Cabinet reshuffle in late August, Lee nominated Rep. Kim Seung-won of the DP to lead the Ministry of Justice. A parliamentary confirmation hearing took place last month, but Kim withdrew his candidacy amid controversy over various allegations, including lobbying for a Covid-19 treatment drug.

Amid a two-month vacancy in the justice minister post, Lee is believed to be carefully reviewing the nomination while considering public sentiment.

Park and Yang, both first-term DP lawmakers from Gwangju, a party stronghold in the southwest, formerly served as prosecutors.

Park is among a group of DP lawmakers calling for the withdrawal of Lee's criminal indictments, claiming they were brought by politically motivated prosecutors.

Yang was appointed a co-chief of the party's legal affairs committee in 2022, when Lee was the head of the DP, to manage Lee's legal issues.

Yonhap