The Han Dong-hoon Story

PART 04 Han Dong-hoon Seeking Answers in the Lives of Ordinary Citizens - Original Text 01

May 17, 2022, morning, Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province.

In the main conference room of the Ministry of Justice at the Government Complex in Gwacheon, a gathering of some of the ministry's 33,400 employees had assembled. It was the day of the inauguration ceremony for the new administration's first Justice Minister. Han Dong-hoon, forty-nine years old, stood at the podium.

The necktie worn by the incoming Justice Minister drew everyone's attention.

In Hunminjeongeum script, it read: "Bulhwi gipeun namu." These were the opening lines of Yongbi eocheonga. The meaning was that a tree with deep roots does not sway in the wind.

Some saw it as fashion; others read it as a message. Han Dong-hoon stepped to the microphone.

"My colleagues in the Ministry of Justice, public servants, welcome."

He used the word "colleagues."

It was uncommon for a minister to address over thirty thousand ministry employees as "colleagues." With that single word, the air in the conference room changed.

"At this moment, when the people are struggling with real estate, inflation, COVID-19, and other challenges, I feel the responsibility to conduct rule-of-law administration that gives strength and comfort to the people." Strength and comfort.

The word "comfort" appearing in a Justice Minister's inaugural address was itself unusual. The Ministry of Justice handles investigation and prosecution, corrections and immigration. It is the ministry that holds the blade of state power. The head of such a ministry spoke of "comfort." The hand holding the sword was the first to extend a handshake.

He continued.

"Since the founding of the Republic of Korea, the Ministry of Justice is one of only two ministries whose names have never changed. The other is the Ministry of National Defense."

He paused for a moment.

"The English name of the Ministry of Justice is 'Ministry of Justice.' Let us not forget this. We who work at the Ministry of Justice must always find the path to 'justice' within the system." Justice.

It was a word he had always cherished during his time as a prosecutor.

Whether investigating SK, Hyundai Motor, the National Tax Service, or Samsung, he never lost sight of this word. Firm against the strong, lenient toward the weak. That was his belief in justice.

That belief became the reason for his reassignments, but ultimately it was the force that carried him to this position.

After the inauguration ceremony ended, the video was posted on YouTube. It exceeded one million views. A prime minister's or minister's inaugural address video reaching one million views was unprecedented. People became curious about him.

A prosecutor reassigned four times under the Moon Jae-in administration. A central figure in the investigation of Cho Kuk. A victim in the frame-up case involving collusion between prosecutors and media. A man who had been accused of abuse of authority. And now, the second-youngest Justice Minister in constitutional history.

It was a scarred record. But those scars made him shine all the brighter. That afternoon, Han Dong-hoon issued his first order.

"Resurrect the Securities Crimes Joint Investigation Task Force."

His staff asked, "Tomorrow right away?"

"Yes. Tomorrow right away."

The Securities Crimes Joint Investigation Task Force had been disbanded in 2019 under Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae. It was the organization that exclusively handled crimes such as stock price manipulation, unfair trading, and accounting fraud. It was the very organization in which Han Dong-hoon had investigated the Lone Star stock manipulation case.

The reason for its disbandment was never made clear. However, after its dissolution, investigations into securities crimes noticeably decreased. The shadows over Yeouido grew deeper still.

The next day, May 18th, the Financial and Securities Crimes Joint Investigation Task Force was launched at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor's Office. The media called it "the return of Yeouido's grim reaper."

Two days into his tenure, Han Dong-hoon executed a major reshuffle of high-ranking prosecutors. The prosecutors general who had been favored under the Moon Jae-in administration stepped down en masse. Inside and outside the Ministry of Justice, people spoke of "a purge of the past." Han Dong-hoon was unmoved.

"Personnel matters are everything. Placing the right people in the right positions is how you revive an organization." On June 14th, he issued another order.

"From now on, do not use the honorific suffix '-nim' in internal Ministry documents. Write 'Justice Minister' instead of 'Justice Minister-nim.'"

It seemed like a small change. But it was a declaration of break with authoritarianism. A single form of address changes culture. When culture changes, the organization changes.

Han Dong-hoon said,

"Holding a high position does not mean one should receive honorific language.

We are all public servants working for the people."

That summer, Han Dong-hoon's face flooded online communities. Memes were created, his quotes circulated, and fan pages appeared. The term "Han Dong-hoon phenomenon" even emerged.

One political analyst offered this assessment:

"The middle class is responding well.

He is earning passing marks in appearance and speech, calligraphy and judgment, and in morality."

Sineonseoepan (身言書判) - the four standards used when selecting officials: appearance, speech, calligraphy, and judgment.

Han Dong-hoon drew people's attention in all four areas. Yet he did not let popularity go to his head.

"Rule of law based on justice and common sense.

That is what I must do.

Every morning he arrived at the office at seven o'clock.

He left work past eleven at night as a rule.

He reduced the use of official vehicles and took public transportation whenever possible.

In the elevator, he pressed the buttons himself.

When an aide tried to hold an umbrella over him, he waved him away. 'On rainy days, everyone gets wet.'

That was how Han Dong-hoon understood justice.

That holding a high position did not grant one the right to escape the rain. That everyone lived under the same sky.

A minister caught in the rain.

That image remained in people's hearts.

That was how the era of Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon began.

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