On the 25th, a second court ruling was issued canceling the Ministry of Justice's two-month suspension of Jeong Jin-woong (29th Judicial Research and Training Institute), a prosecutor at the Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office, who was indicted on charges of assaulting former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon but was acquitted. This ruling reached the same conclusion as the first trial.
The Seoul High Court's Administrative Division 11-3, presided over by Directors General Kim Woo-soo, Choi Soo-hwan, and Yun Jong-gu, ruled in favor of the plaintiff in the lawsuit seeking to cancel the disciplinary action taken against Jeong by the Minister of Justice.
While serving as the head of the Criminal Division 1 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in July 2020, Jeong was involved in a physical altercation with Han, who was then a research officer at the Judicial Research and Training Institute, during a search and seizure related to the 'Channel A incident.' Jeong misinterpreted Han's attempt to destroy evidence during the search and tried to seize Han's mobile phone, leading to the confrontation.
The prosecution charged Jeong in October 2020 with assault under the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes Act. However, Jeong was acquitted by the Supreme Court in November 2022. In August 2020, during the time he was a suspect, Jeong was promoted to Vice Administrator at the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, and in May 2022, he was appointed as a prosecutor at the Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office when Han took office as Minister of Justice.
The Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office, separate from the criminal trial results, acknowledged that there were grounds for discipline against Jeong and requested disciplinary action from the Ministry of Justice in May 2023. Subsequently, the Ministry of Justice imposed a two-month suspension on Jeong in February of last year, citing 'violation of duties in office' and 'damage to dignity' under the Prosecutor Disciplinary Act. Under the Prosecutor Disciplinary Act, disciplinary actions are categorized as dismissal, removal, suspension, reduction in rank, and censure, with suspension considered a major penalty. Jeong filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Justice seeking the cancellation of the disciplinary action.
The first trial ruled to cancel the disciplinary action against Jeong. The court noted, 'While the grounds for the discipline based on the duty of sincerity and the damage to honor are acknowledged, considering the acquittal in the criminal case and the circumstances and degree of negligence regarding Jeong's duty violation, the suspension action constitutes an abuse of discretion.'