Jeong Jin-woong, a Seoul High Prosecutors' Office prosecutor who was indicted on charges of official abuse causing bodily harm during a search and seizure involving People Power Party former leader Han Dong-hoon but was finally acquitted, received a reprimand. The Ministry of Justice cited breach of duty and damage to dignity as grounds for discipline.
The Ministry of Justice published the details of Jeong's discipline in the official gazette on the 26th. The ministry said, "During the execution of the search and seizure warrant, he failed to comply with the procedures prescribed by the relevant regulations," and "he damaged dignity by distributing photos of receiving hospital treatment and a statement as if he had been harmed by the other party."
In July 2020, while serving as head of the Criminal Division 1 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Jeong engaged in a physical scuffle during a search and seizure of Han, related to the so-called Channel A case. Prosecutors charged Jeong in October 2020 with official abuse causing bodily harm under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes, but the Supreme Court finalized an acquittal in November 2022.
Separately from the criminal trial, the Ministry of Justice decided in February last year to suspend Jeong for two months for breach of duty and damage to dignity under the Prosecutors' Disciplinary Act. Jeong filed an administrative suit to cancel the discipline, and the court of first instance ruled to cancel the suspension as an abuse of discretion. The appellate court also dismissed the ministry's appeal, finalizing the ruling, and this time the disciplinary level appears to have been lowered to a reprimand and decided again.
The Ministry of Justice imposed a three-month suspension on Lee Jeong-hyeon, a prosecutor at the Ulsan District Prosecutors' Office, for damage to dignity including sexual harassment of a female investigator in the prosecutor's office. For Kim Tae-young, a prosecutor at the Gunsan Branch of the Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office, the ministry issued a reprimand, saying he damaged dignity by acts of assault such as grabbing a junior prosecutor by the collar during a company dinner.
Under the Prosecutors' Disciplinary Act, disciplinary measures are divided into dismissal, removal, suspension, pay reduction, and reprimand. Suspension or above is classified as severe discipline.