Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office chief Im Eun-jung on the 5th again made remarks aimed at the prosecution. Regarding the National Assembly's passage of the Government Organization Act, whose main point is abolishing the prosecution service, Chief Im said, "The prosecution reaped as it sowed." It came a week after she was warned by Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho to be mindful of her words and actions as a senior public official.
That day on her Facebook page, Chief Im said, "Chuseok is a holiday of joy and gratitude when we finish the year's farming and harvest the five grains," adding, "I feel the prosecution has finally reached the harvest season of reaping as it sowed, and I regret not having tried harder to stop it; in many ways, I feel sorry and sorrowful."
She also noted, "As I offered Chuseok greetings to colleagues, I said we should not be stunned or disappointed by the yield but prepare well for next year so that next year will not be like this year," adding, "Preparation for a fruitful next year should not be a struggle to protect vested interests, but a struggle to correct and set right the prosecution's faults and mistakes to regain the trust of the citizens we lost."
On the 29th, at a National Assembly public hearing, Chief Im described the personnel appointments of prosecutors as an "appointments disaster" and labeled some prosecutors the "five enemies of prosecution reform," for which she was warned by Minister Jeong. Minister Jeong said, "Please be mindful of words and actions that could raise doubts about political neutrality or fairness in duty going forward," and asked, "As the head of a frontline prosecutors' office, set an example and be faithful to your original duties."