Rebuilding Korea Party raises concerns over new presidential civil affairs secretary's prosecutorial past

The Rebuilding Korea Party expressed concern Saturday over the appointment of Han Chan-sik, a former prosecutor turned attorney, as the new presidential civil affairs secretary at Cheong Wa Dae.

Senior spokesperson Park Byeong-eon said in a statement that Han's appointment was "deeply worrying" given that the second phase of prosecution reform — covering supplementary investigative powers for prosecutors and the question of mandatory full-case transfers — is set to be debated in the second half of the year.

Park pointed to Han's record as chief of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors Office, where he oversaw the investigation into the so-called "Environment Ministry blacklist" case under the Moon Jae-in administration. "Han previously indicted former Environment Minister Kim Eun-kyung and former presidential secretaries Song In-bae and Shin Mi-suk," Park said. "Although the court handed down guilty verdicts, critics at the time argued that the investigation had stretched the definition of abuse of authority too broadly by treating personnel vetting as a criminal act."

Park also referenced People Power Party lawmaker Ju Jin-woo, who served as chief of the criminal sixth division at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors Office and led the day-to-day investigation. "After leading that probe, former prosecutor Ju left the service, joined Yoon Suk Yeol's presidential campaign and then served on the presidential transition committee handling personnel vetting — contributing to the birth of the Yoon Suk Yeol government," Park added.

Park further noted that while serving as chief of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors Office, Han had refused a request to retroactively approve a travel ban imposed on former Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-eui. "It is because of this track record that the Rebuilding Korea Party has these concerns," Park said.

The party called on the government and the Democratic Party to "squarely face public concern over the revival of mandatory full-case transfers and the preservation of prosecutors' investigative powers, and to take the lead in fully separating investigation from indictment."

Meanwhile, President Lee Jae Myung carried out a personnel reshuffle Saturday, appointing new secretaries for civil affairs, public communications and social affairs.

Han, a Kim & Chang attorney and graduate of the 21st class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, previously served as director of the human rights bureau at the Ministry of Justice and as chief of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors Office before his appointment as civil affairs secretary.

Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik said Han is "a legal professional who has built a well-balanced combination of rigorous law enforcement and sensitivity to human rights through his experience leading frontline prosecution offices." Kang added that Han would "strengthen accountability across the civil service in the administration's second year and ensure the seamless completion of prosecution reform, including the establishment of a serious crimes investigation agency and a new public prosecution office."

Seong Gi-hong, former president of Yonhap News Agency, was named the Lee Jae Myung administration's second presidential communications secretary. He joined Yonhap in 1992 and went on to serve as political desk chief, editorial writer and news director of Yonhap News TV, then served as president of both Yonhap News Agency and Yonhap News TV for three years beginning in 2021.

Kim Gyeong-ja, a visiting professor at Woosuk University and former senior vice chairperson of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, was named social affairs secretary.