Acting Prosecutor General Noh Man-seok offered to resign on the 12th. It came five days after prosecutors dropped their appeal in the Daejang-dong development scandal on the 7th.
Some raised suspicions that there had been external pressure from the Ministry of Justice and others, but Minister Jung Sung-ho drew a line, saying, "That never happened." He also said, "We did not discuss it with the presidential office."
However, voices within the prosecution continued to call for Noh to step down. Noh took annual leave on the 11th to weigh his options and around 5:40 p.m. that day offered to resign. He plans to present a detailed position at a previously scheduled farewell ceremony.
The following are the events over 13 days that led Noh to resign voluntarily.
Oct. 31
Criminal Division 22 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Cho Hyung-woo) sentenced the so-called "Daejang-dong five," including Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu who led the Daejang-dong development project, to prison terms of 4 to 8 years and forfeitures of 800 million to 42.8 billion won.
Nov. 3
The Daejang-dong investigation and trial team unanimously decided to appeal against all five defendants.
Nov. 5
Seoul Central District Prosecutor General Jeong Jin-woo and other leaders also decided to file an appeal.
Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m.
The Director General for anti-corruption at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office notified the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office that an appeal would not be permitted. The Daejang-dong investigation and trial team tried to persuade the Supreme Prosecutors' Office but failed.
Nov. 8, 12 a.m.
Prosecutors dropped the appeal as the deadline expired.
Nov. 8, 4 a.m.
The Daejang-dong investigation team posted on the prosecution's intranet (E-Pros) claiming, "We were effectively forced to drop the appeal due to external pressure from the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution leadership."
Nov. 8, 12 p.m.
Jeong, the Seoul Central District Prosecutor General, offered to resign.
Nov. 9, 2 p.m.
Noh posted a statement on the prosecution's intranet saying, "For the Daejang-dong development scandal, after consulting the Ministry of Justice's views and others, I concluded in consultation with the Seoul Central District Prosecutor General that it was reasonable not to file an appeal."
Nov. 9, 4 p.m.
Jeong issued a statement saying, "While I accept the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's directive, I offered to resign to make clear that the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's view is different."
Nov. 10, 10:30 a.m.
Minister Jung Sung-ho said on his way to work, "When the Supreme Prosecutors' Office said there was a need to appeal, I said, 'It would be good to judge prudently.'"
Nov. 10
A Director General (chief prosecutor) and rank-and-file prosecutors serving as researchers at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office demanded that Noh "take responsibility for this situation and resign."
Eighteen district chiefs, including Suwon District Prosecutor General Park Jae-eok, issued a statement saying "further explanation is needed regarding Noh's decision to forgo an appeal."
Nov. 11
Noh took a day of leave to ponder his future.
Nov. 12, 8:40 a.m.
On his way to work, Noh was asked by reporters about announcing his plans and did not answer.
Nov. 12, 5:38 p.m.
Noh offered to resign.