New Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Chief Park Cheol-woo said at his inauguration on the 21st that "what truly allows the prosecution to have its raison d'être recognized by the public is efficient judicial oversight of, and supplementary investigations into, police probes, which currently account for a large share."
At the inauguration held at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, at 10 a.m. on the 21st, Park said, "I will review the efficiency of the prosecution's work system and seek ways to enable each member to demonstrate their capabilities through appropriate resource allocation." Regarding the ruling party's so-called "prosecution reform" push, he expressed the view that the prosecution needs the authority to conduct supplementary investigations.
Regarding the recent atmosphere surrounding the prosecution, Park said, "There has been no time in recent memory when the sense of deprivation and self-reproach felt as if all the passion we have poured in has been utterly denied," while emphasizing the need for internal reflection.
Park said, "At a minimum, let's start by reflecting on scenes where the fairness of our exercise of investigative authority was pointed out by the public, and on words and deeds that may have appeared arrogant, even unconsciously," adding, "This is not about assigning blame to someone; it is about adopting an attitude of mulling over whether there was any shortfall or excess that we overlooked without realizing it."
He continued, "Let's free ourselves from our own political convictions or 'self-formed practices' and look at cases as objectively as possible," adding, "When we view cases as objectively as possible and make efforts to objectively reflect on ourselves in that process, the public will, one by one, once again recognize the sweat and effort we have poured into protecting people from crime."
On restructuring the prosecution system, he said he would gather the opinions of prosecution members as much as possible. Park said, "The criminal justice system can change, but the prosecution's original duty to protect the public from crime and remedy their rights cannot change," adding, "I will ensure that the capabilities and values accumulated over 78 years alongside the public are not lost, and that they continue and develop."
At the inauguration, there was no specific mention regarding the "waiver of appeal in the Daejang-dong development scandal." Park, who previously served as the head of the anti-corruption department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office (prosecutor-general rank), is known to have been involved in the process of discussing the waiver. Regarding this, Park said on his way to work before the inauguration, "It seems that inaccurate information about me has spread."