Cheong Wa Dae says Justice Minister Jeong's resignation not officially confirmed

Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday it could not officially confirm reports that Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho had offered to resign over his opposition to abolishing prosecutors' supplementary investigative powers.

Kang Yu-jung, senior spokesperson for Cheong Wa Dae, made the remarks in response to a reporter's question at a briefing held at a local press center in Brasilia on Sunday (local time), while accompanying President Lee Jae Myung on his tour of the United States and South America.

Jeong is said to have conveyed through presidential aides his wish to leave the cabinet and return to the party.

Kang also reaffirmed the administration's position that it would "respect whatever decision is made" regarding the Democratic Party of Korea's announcement that it would pass an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act this week to fully abolish prosecutors' supplementary investigative powers.

"What matters is being prepared for the situation that follows once a conclusion is reached," Kang said. "We will prepare for and address the issues that arise afterward."

Jeong appeared before the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Monday and deflected reporters' questions about whether he had offered to resign over the party's position on abolishing supplementary investigative powers. "The president has gone abroad to work in the national interest — it is not appropriate to be talking about this now," he said. "My future is not an important matter."

Earlier, President Lee chaired a video conference of senior secretaries from Brasilia, saying that regarding the revised Network Act, "as we are in the early stages of implementation, it is necessary to show a firm response to cases where false or manipulated information is distorting public opinion."

Lee also received a briefing from the chief civil affairs secretary on preparations for the launch of the new Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, stressing that preparations must be thorough. He added that public officials must maintain a clear distinction between public and private matters and uphold the principle of putting public duty before personal interest.

He further said that "the role of the civil affairs secretariat is to ensure that each ministry's internal oversight functions are operating properly — to verify that those oversight mechanisms are working," and urged the secretariat to carry out that role faithfully.