Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho remarked today (the 27th) regarding his future, saying, "Shouldn't new wine be put into new bottles?"

Minister Jung made the remark while attending a plenary session of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee this morning, in response to a question by Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Park Jie-won asking, "Do you plan to directly express your intention to resign once the President returns?"

This is interpreted as a veiled expression of Minister Jung's intention to step down.

Minister Jung stated, "I believe that 95 percent of prosecution reform will be achieved when the Prosecution Service and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency are launched on October 2. Because prosecution reform has been mostly completed in its broad framework, I have been thinking that new wine should be put into new bottles even before the announcement on abolishing supplementary investigation powers."

He continued, "On a personal note, my health is very poor. I have been suffering from a fairly severe sleep disorder for several months," adding, "It is a personal matter so it is difficult to elaborate, but I had been discussing these aspects with people around the President."

Lawmaker Park told Minister Jung, "Your health can hold out until the end of this year," and added, "Close aides need the attitude of making the President successful even if it kills you. Please launch everything before you leave."

Minister Jung responded, "Having been close to the President for over 39 years since my youth, I have shared my political path and intentions with the President," adding, "Since the broad framework has been concluded, I think only technical issues remain. In that respect, I believe a new stance may also be necessary."

He also said, "Fortunately, the National Assembly is paying special attention to victim protection and discussing many of the shortcomings in depth, so I think it will be successfully completed through such procedures."

(Photo: Yonhap News)