But Justice Minister Chen Ding-nan repeated accusations that the magazine threatened to reveal national secrets.
China's Chen Ding was the first Olympic record breaker, improving the men's 20 km walk record.
On Tuesday, Yu told reporters that popular corruption-busting Justice Minister Chen Ding-nan would keep his job.
Finishing behind Chen Ding, he shared the honour of winning China's first ever Olympic medals in the event.
The Chen Ding-nan Foundation, established to commemorate Chen, proposes to build a memorial hall for him in his hometown Yilan.
Leading the crusade is Justice Minister Chen Ding-nan, an attorney and former shoe salesman nicknamed " Mr . Clean ."
Among them featured defending Olympic champion Chen Ding and bronze medalists Zhang Guowei, sprinter Su Bingtian, shot putter Gong Lijiao, and hammer thrower Zhang Wenxiu.
Despite these suspicious points, Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan ordered Lu Cheng's execution on September 7, 2000, just one day before that year's Mid-Autumn Festival.
Justice Minister Chen Ding-nan said that stricter rules about how voters can pick their candidates on ballots might have produced the high number of invalid votes.