It has been confirmed that Cheong Wa Dae is strongly considering former prosecutors and Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers Park Gyun-taek (Gwangju Gwangsan-A) and Yang Bu-nam (Gwangju Seo-gu-B) as candidates for the next Minister of Justice.

A Cheong Wa Dae official told SBS, "Lawmakers Park Gyun-taek and Yang Bu-nam are being strongly considered as candidates for Minister of Justice."

The final selection of the nominee is expected to take place after next week's parliamentary audit of the Presidential Secretariat by the National Assembly's House Steering Committee.

Both Rep. Park and Rep. Yang, who have been shortlisted, are first-term lawmakers from the Honam region and former heads of High Prosecutors' Offices who are classified as pro-Lee Jae-myung figures.

Both were recruited when President Lee served as the leader of the Democratic Party in the past, serving as special advisor and head of the party's legal committee, respectively.

Both Rep. Park and Rep. Yang, along with Reps. Kim Ki-pyo, Lee Gun-tae, and Kim Dong-a, are grouped among the so-called "lawmakers from the Daejang-dong defense team" who previously defended President Lee or his close associates or played roles during their legal response processes.

Key factors behind their potential nomination reportedly include their experience holding major positions within the prosecution amid major changes in the criminal justice system—such as the launches of the Public Prosecution Office and the Major Crimes Investigation Agency—and their extensive legal discussions with President Lee while responding to his "judicial risks."

Rep. Park Gyun-taek graduated from Gwangju Daedong High School, Seoul National University School of Law, and the 21st class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, and served as the head of the Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office.

During the Moon Jae-in administration, as the first director-general of the Ministry of Justice's Prosecution Bureau, he oversaw the working-level operations of prosecution reform at the time, and during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, he was dispatched to work at the Presidential Committee for Judicial Reform, a presidential advisory panel on judicial and prosecutorial reform.

In 2022, when President Lee was party leader, Park served as the party leader's special legal advisor, working as an attorney for President Lee in cases involving Baekhyeon-dong, Seongnam FC, and illicit remittances to North Korea, attending questioning and pretrial detention warrant hearings.

Regarding the current administration's prosecutorial reform agenda, he voiced the position that conditional and exceptional supplementary investigative authority needs to be permitted, while also advocating for the dismissal of indictments regarding President Lee's cases alongside fellow lawmakers in related groups.

Rep. Yang Bu-nam graduated from Damyang Technical High School, Chonnam National University School of Law, and the 22nd class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, and rose to serve as the head of the Busan High Prosecutors' Office.

During his time in the prosecution, he investigated high-profile cases including the Daegu subway arson incident, allegations of illicit presidential campaign funds involving the Grand National Party, and the Kangwon Land hiring irregularities, as well as numerous public official corruption crimes, and was considered among the candidates for Prosecutor General during the Moon Jae-in administration.

In 2022, when President Lee was party leader, Yang was appointed co-head of the party's legal committee, overseeing the party-wide response to President Lee's judicial risks for about a year and a half.

He has served as the head of the party's legal committee since the launch of the leadership under Representative Kim Min-seok.

After Rep. Jung Sung-ho, who served as the first Minister of Justice under the Lee Jae-myung administration, stepped down, President Lee nominated Rep. Kim Seung-won in an August cabinet reshuffle.

However, Rep. Kim withdrew his nomination in September following controversies, including allegations of solicitation regarding approval for new drug clinical trials.

(Photo: Yonhap News)