Justice Minister Jeong Sung-ho Marks One Year in Office; Ministry Highlights Key Achievements

Minister of Justice Jeong Sung-ho stated on July 19, "Over the past year, I have focused the center of justice administration on a 'Ministry of Justice that works for the people' and a 'Ministry of Justice that grows for public safety and people's livelihoods,' seeking answers in the field."

He emphasized, "From healing the wounds of state violence to responding to international investment disputes, designing advanced immigration and foreign national policies, and resolving overcrowding in correctional facilities, we have laid the groundwork to elevate the paradigm of the rule of law in the Republic of Korea to the next level."

On this day, marking the first anniversary of Minister Jeong's inauguration, the Ministry of Justice announced its key achievements, stating, "We have concentrated our policy capabilities on the daily safety of the public and the vitality of the national economy."

First, the Ministry explained that it has focused its investigative capabilities on three major malicious crimes: voice phishing, financial and virtual asset crimes, and narcotics.

The Joint Investigation Team for Voice Phishing Crimes at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office booked a total of 471 individuals and arrested 169 from July of last year to May of this year.

Compared to the previous three years, the monthly average number of individuals booked increased by 87%, and the number of arrests rose by 66.7%.

Centered around the Joint Investigation Team for Financial, Securities, and Virtual Asset Crimes at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, 304 related offenders were booked and 25 were arrested from June of last year to May of this year, with a total of 381.4 billion won in illicit criminal proceeds preserved for forfeiture.

The Joint Investigation Headquarters for Narcotics Crimes, which launched last November, has booked 264 individuals, including eight organizations, and arrested 125 key figures as of last month.

In the first half of this year alone, 135 overseas fugitives were forcibly repatriated to Korea, including a husband-and-wife romance scam ring, Philippine drug kingpin Park Wang-yeol, and the heads of overseas hacking organizations.

The Ministry of Justice also emphasized that it has strengthened shareholder protection through amendments to the Commercial Act, such as introducing the duty of loyalty for directors to shareholders, making cumulative voting mandatory for large listed companies, and establishing a principle to retire treasury stocks within one year.

In the major consumer goods sector, which is directly linked to household grocery prices such as flour, sugar, starch sugar, and oil, the Ministry uncovered large-scale price-fixing cases totaling 33.6 trillion won and indicted 62 individuals.

The Ministry also proposed a comprehensive amendment to the Civil Act regarding contract law for the first time in 67 years.

It is pushing for a revision of the Civil Act that includes a provision for the "non-objectification of animals," which distinguishes animals from objects, and has enabled requests for detailed breakdowns of commercial building management fees.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Justice plans to lower the occupancy rate of correctional institutions to 118% by 2030 by constructing and relocating five correctional facilities.

It is also expanding parole, focusing on inmates with a low risk of recidivism, such as model prisoners, the elderly, the sick, and the disabled.

The launch of the Committee for the Respect of Human Rights and the Future of the Prosecution to investigate allegations of abuse of prosecutorial power was also cited as an achievement.

The Ministry of Justice stated, "For the first time in the history of justice administration, high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution paid tribute at the May 18th National Cemetery, reflecting on past wrongs and declaring their will to move forward as a new Ministry of Justice and prosecution."

During Minister Jeong's tenure, a total of 38 bills related to public livelihood and safety passed through the National Assembly, a 65% increase compared to the same period the previous year. Representative examples include the amendment to the Stalking Punishment Act, the amendment to the Child Abuse Punishment Act, the amendment to the Act on the Confiscation of Corruption Assets, and the enactment of the Special Act on the Attribution of Pro-Japanese Assets.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.