Lee meets with GNP leaders amid looming row over move to name aide as justice minister

SEOUL, July 13 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak met with the new leaders of the ruling Grand National Party on Wednesday amid a looming row over Lee's move to name one of his senior secretaries as justice minister.
It was the first time that Lee has met with GNP Chairman Rep. Hong Joon-pyo and the four other new members of the GNP's Supreme Council since they were elected at the party's national convention last week.
Lee was expected to ask the GNP leaders for support in getting the long-pending free trade agreement with the United States and a series of defense reform bills passed through the National Assembly.
The lunch meeting came as some of the new leaders voiced opposition to Lee's reported plan to nominate Kwon Jae-jin, senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, for justice minister.
They cite concerns that the appointment of a close presidential aide as justice minister could raise questions over law enforcement's neutrality ahead of next year's general and presidential elections.
Opposition lawmakers have already been crying foul over the move.
The nomination of a new justice minister could come at the same time as when Lee names a new chief prosecutor after Prosecutor-General Kim Joon-gyu left office last week in protest over the passage of a bill that prosecutors claim restricts their oversight of police investigations.
Officials said Lee intends to fill the top prosecutor slot as early as possible, with leading candidates including Han Sang-dae, chief of the Seoul District Prosecutors' Office, and Cha Dong-min, head of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office.
But Han's nomination could also raise eyebrows among the opposition parties because of his exemption from mandatory military service.
In South Korea, fulfillment of military service is considered a key ethical requirement for high-level office holders and politicians because in the past, children of influential people were often exempted from the service through illicit means.
jschang@yna.co.kr
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