As the appointment of a new Justice Minister is imminent, it has belatedly been learned that Deputy Minister Lee Jin-soo, who is serving as the acting Justice Minister, also expressed his intention to resign three months ago.

According to legal circles, Deputy Minister Lee submitted his resignation around the end of July, when the Democratic Party of Korea was pushing hard to abolish prosecutors' supplementary investigation powers, citing health reasons.

At the time, the Democratic Party was pushing to pass an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act through the plenary session of the National Assembly that would strip prosecutors of their supplementary investigation authority.

Deputy Minister Lee repeatedly voiced his opposition to the abolition of supplementary investigation powers, stating, "If supplementary investigation powers are abolished without effective alternatives, a vacuum in remedy rights for crime victims is inevitable."

However, it was understood that Deputy Minister Lee submitted a conditional resignation, stating that he would remain in his post only until the next minister is appointed, out of concern that the Ministry of Justice would be left in a double-acting system where even the acting minister's role is vacant.

Former Justice Minister Chung Sung-ho also expressed his intention to resign around late July after the Democratic Party adopted the complete abolition of supplementary investigation powers as its party platform, and stepped down on August 26.

Former Acting Prosecutor General Koo Ja-hyun also submitted his resignation on July 31, when the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act passed the National Assembly.

Last month, former Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won dropped out after becoming embroiled in allegations of soliciting clinical trials for a COVID-19 new drug.

Since then, as the leadership vacuum at the Ministry of Justice has prolonged, Deputy Minister Lee's resignation has not been accepted.

Previously, Deputy Minister Lee stated that even if he were nominated as a candidate for Prosecutor General, he would not participate in subsequent screening procedures, and it was understood that he conveyed his intention to step down from the deputy ministerial post during this process as well.

Deputy Minister Lee's resignation is expected to be accepted as soon as the next Justice Minister takes office.

President Lee Jae-myung has reportedly narrowed down candidates for the next Justice Minister to two lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea, Park Kyun-tak and Yang Bu-nam, and is deliberating at the final stage.

(Photo: Yonhap News)