Wild ‘Luxury Bag Acquittal’ Criticism, Park Sung-jae “Should I make the law”

During the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee meeting, there was a heated exchange between lawmaker Jeon Hyeon-hee and prosecution.
Opposition: “Kim Gun-hee receives prosecutorial protection…Kim Hye-kyung goes to trial for 100,000 won”
Ruling party: “No bribery or solicitation of third parties in Pastor Choi Jae-young’s testimony”,

[Seoul=Newsis] Reporter Cho Sung-woo = Minister of Justice Park Sang-jae is answering questions during the Legislation and Judiciary Committee general meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 23rd. On the right is Auditor General Choi Jae-hae. Newsis,
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, ‘During the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the opposition focused on the prosecution’s decision to drop the investigation into Kim Gun-hee’s luxury bag receipt allegations. In the process, there was a contentious exchange between Minister of Justice Park Sang-jae.’,
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, ‘During the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee meeting on the 23rd, lawmaker Lee Seong-yoon of the ruling party argued, “While Kim Hye-kyung is on trial for 104,000 won corporate card usage, Kim Gun-hee receives prosecutorial protection even when receiving 3 million won.” Lawmaker Kim Seung-won commented, “As a former judge, there are numerous cases where bribery charges were imposed just because a public official’s spouse received something.”.’,
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, ‘On the other hand, lawmaker Jang Dong-hyuk of the opposition party stated, “According to the Anti-Corruption Act, there is no provision for penalizing public officials’ spouses for receiving money. Even if a public official can be punished, it only applies if the act is concealed.” He further argued, “The opposition claims about soliciting third-party bribes are baseless as Pastor Choi Jae-young’s testimony on the luxury bag exchange shows no intention of soliciting bribes from third parties. The crime doesn’t even hold.”.’,
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, ‘During the questioning, a heated exchange occurred between Minister Park and lawmaker Jeon Hyeon-hee. Jeon asked, “The prosecution decided it was not a problem because they said it was an expression of gratitude. How do you feel about this decision?” Minister Park responded, “I am not aware of the conclusion yet as I have not received the report from the prosecution. It seems inappropriate for the Minister of Justice to comment based on media reports.”‘,
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, ‘When Jeon continued to demand an answer, Minister Park retorted, “If there are no regulations to enforce penalties, then lawmakers, who are also National Human Rights Commission members, should enact legislation. If there are no regulations, how can I execute anything?” He even said during repeated questioning, “Do I have to create the law myself?”.’,
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, ‘The ruling party and opposition also clashed over suspicions of malfeasance against Kim Young-chul, deputy chief prosecutor of the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors’ Office, who is a target for impeachment. Ruling party lawmaker Jeong Cheong-rae criticized, “Seoul Detention Center only submitted the requested time of Kim’s check-ins and check-outs to the prosecution, claiming after three years the records were discarded. However, the Ministry of Justice submitted all records, even those over three years old, to the National Assembly, which undermines the parliament.”‘,
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, ‘The ruling party argued that on the day the prosecutor implicated Kim, he did not check-in. Opposition lawmaker Joo Jin-woo stated, “After checking with the Seoul Detention Center, it was confirmed that Kim’s trial ended at 2:40 p.m. on December 6, 2017, and he entered at 4:05 p.m. It was verified that he did not leave the detention center after that, but the ruling party claims he instructed perjury. Can you teach perjury telepathically?” he criticized.’,
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, ‘Meanwhile, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee adopted a plan for personnel hearings to verify the qualifications of Shim Woo-jung, the candidate for Prosecutor General, scheduled for the 3rd of next month.\n’