Opposition party lawmakers have been calling for Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon to resign since the Constitutional Court upheld a pair of controversial reform laws on Thursday that the previous administration passed. The Moon Jae-in administration and the Democratic Party (DP) passed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act and the Prosecutors’ Office Act to reduce prosecutors' authority to investigate crimes. The types of crimes they could investigate were reduced from six to two — corruption and economic crimes. 

Han and a group of prosecutors filed a joint petition with the Constitutional Court in June, asking that the court void the laws. They claimed the laws violated the prosecutors’ right to investigate and prosecute. Two PPP lawmakers filed a separate complaint with the court over the legislative procedure by which the bills were passed. The court dismissed Han’s petition.