Justice minister calls Kim Keon Hee's 7-year sentence a verdict on 'political prosecutors'

Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho sharply criticized prosecutors Friday following the first-instance sentencing of Kim Keon Hee — former President Yoon Suk Yeol's wife — to seven years in prison on charges of selling public offices.

In a Facebook post, Jeong said guilty verdicts had been handed down "without exception" across the full range of allegations against Kim, from the Van Cleef & Arpels necklace and gold turtle figurine to the Dior bag — a case in which prosecutors under the previous Yoon administration had led the charge in granting her a pass. "Because of a handful of political prosecutors who sold their souls to power and turned a blind eye to wrongdoing, the prosecution today finds itself facing what is in effect its own dismantlement," he said.

Jeong described the ruling as "a stern warning from the judiciary that public office must never become a commodity to be traded." He added that it also amounted to a judgment against the political prosecutors who had cleared Kim of the same charges while watching the mood of those in power.

He went on to say that this small group of political prosecutors had abused prosecutorial authority and trampled on the honor and pride of the vast majority of their colleagues who work diligently day and night. He said they had driven public trust in judicial justice to rock bottom and made it difficult for society to engage in normal deliberation over reform of the criminal justice system.

"They must reflect on the harm they have inflicted on society and repent deeply," Jeong said. "At the same time, through the ongoing special prosecutor investigation and other processes, they must be held accountable in proportion to the grave misconduct they committed."

Jeong closed by noting that major changes to the criminal justice system lie ahead. "The prosecution must make an even stronger effort toward change and innovation on its own in order to regain the trust of the people," he said.