It appears that more than 160 prosecutors have resigned this year alone. With the launch of the Constitution-Respecting Government Innovation task force (TF) and controversy over abandoning the appeal in the Daejang-dong case overlapping, some project that the number of resignations could rise further through the end of the year.
According to materials submitted by the Ministry of Justice to the office of Kim Yong-min, a member of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, as of the 10th of this month, 161 prosecutors have resigned this year. The figure has already surpassed 146 in 2022 and 132 in 2023, marking the highest number in the past 10 years.
Prosecutors with less than 10 years of experience numbered 52, accounting for one-third of all resignations. Looking at the number of resignations among prosecutors with less than 10 years of experience by year in recent years: ▲ 22 in 2021 ▲ 43 in 2022 ▲ 39 in 2023 ▲ 38 in 2024, it has never exceeded 50.
In September alone, after the change of administration, 47 people submitted resignations in a single month. This appears to be due to intensified debate over prosecutorial reform following the change of administration. Cha Ho-dong, former Seosan Branch Chief Prosecutor at the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office, said in September that after the passage of the amendment to the Government Organization Act aimed at abolishing the prosecution service, "nearly 40,000 criminal cases nationwide are left hanging in midair."
Some also project that the prosecution's manpower shortage could worsen. With the launch of the "Constitution-Respecting Government Innovation task force (TF)" to investigate whether public officials were complicit in illegal acts related to the Dec. 3 martial law, there is reportedly considerable internal backlash. In line with the Prime Minister's Office policy, TFs established at each agency, including the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, will investigate acts that planned, executed, justified, or concealed martial law over a total of 10 months, from six months before to four months after Dec. 3 last year, immediately preceding martial law.
Another variable is the ongoing calls for inspection and discipline of chief prosecutors who issued a collective statement about abandoning the appeal in the Daejang-dong case. Lawmakers from the Democratic Party on the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 19th filed a police complaint against 18 chief prosecutors, including former Suwon District Prosecutors' Office chief Park Jae-eok, on suspicion of violating the State Public Officials Act. Afterward, former District Prosecutor Park and former Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office chief Song Kang submitted resignations.