The presidential office on the 12th said regarding the resignation offer by Acting Prosecutor General Noh Man-seok (deputy prosecutor general of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office), "If the dismissal plan for Acting Prosecutor General Noh Man-seok is recommended by the Minister of Justice, the plan will be approved." It came five days after the prosecution gave up its appeal in the Daejang-dong development scandal.
That afternoon, the presidential office distributed to the media a statement with these points in the name of the spokesperson's office. It made no mention of allegations of external pressure by the presidential office or the collective backlash inside the prosecution. The presidential office also told reporters the previous day asking for its view on the decision to forgo an appeal that it had "no position." On suspicions of prior coordination, it said, "It is not appropriate for a reporter covering the presidential office to ask about suspicions raised by the opposition party." President Lee also made no related remarks at the Cabinet meeting the same day.
However, Woo Sang-ho, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, appeared on SBS's YouTube channel and said, "It was not something the presidential office intervened in or planned." On whether there would be any benefit if the president intervened in a trial, he also said, "The prosecutors who investigated and indicted this case should reflect on themselves." Woo said, "Nam Uk, Kim Man-bae, and Yoo Dong-gyu, who were involved in the Daejang-dong development scandal and stood trial, were people who contributed to President Lee Jae-myung's defeat in the 2022 presidential election," adding, "We want them to be ruined."
The Supreme Prosecutors' Office said that day that Acting Chief Noh had offered to resign, adding, "We will share detailed views at the retirement ceremony." Noh had served as acting prosecutor general for about four months since last July after then–Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung voluntarily resigned. After the decision to give up the appeal in the Daejang-dong development scandal triggered a strong collective backlash within the prosecution, he ultimately expressed his intention to step down.
Earlier, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office gave up its appeal of the first trial rulings for former Seongnam Development Corporation planning director Yoo Dong-gyu; Hwacheon Daeyu major shareholder Kim Man-bae; attorney Nam Uk; accountant Jung Young-hak; and attorney Jung Min-yong, who were indicted on charges including breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes in connection with the Daejang-dong development corruption case. The first trial court handed down prison terms of four to eight years, higher than what prosecutors had sought, but prosecutors did not submit an appeal brief by the deadline of midnight on the 7th of this month. All five defendants appealed. Under the Criminal Procedure Act's principle of "no disadvantageous change," a higher sentence than in the first trial cannot be imposed.