The Ministry of Justice submitted a written statement to the court saying the recent personnel move involving Prosecutor General Jeong Yu-mi, who was effectively demoted, was a legitimate transfer.
On the 2nd, according to legal sources, the Ministry of Justice's litigation representative submitted a preparatory brief with this content to the Seoul Administrative Court, which is hearing the case on the application to suspend execution of the demotion order for Jeong.
The Ministry of Justice said that because Jeong, while serving as chief of the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office, was booked as a suspect in connection with allegations of leaking investigative information in the "Myeong Tae-gyun gate" case, it does not violate the principle of protection of trust.
It was also reported to have conveyed the position that transferring Jeong to the Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office as a prosecutor—a post equivalent to Vice Administrator and Director General level—"is not a disciplinary action, and a transfer is a measure the appointing authority can take." It reportedly also cited a previous case in which another chief prosecutor was demoted to a high prosecutors' office prosecutor.
Earlier, in a preparatory brief filed with the court, Jeong argued that, based on precedent, she expected to serve at least two years as a research fellow at the Legal Research and Training Institute but was transferred after five months, saying the Ministry of Justice abused its discretion and violated the principle of protection of trust.
Jeong also cited Lim Eun-jeong, head of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, as an example, saying, "Although some prosecutors were publicly criticized as 'the five enemies of prosecutorial reform' and 'pro-Yoon prosecutors,' the Ministry of Justice limited itself to an oral warning." She contrasted her own demotion for raising issues with the current administration's prosecutorial reform with Lim's promotion despite similar activities.
On the 11th of last month, in senior personnel appointments, the Ministry of Justice effectively demoted Jeong to a prosecutor at the Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office, a post equivalent to Vice Administrator and Director General level. The next day, Jeong filed an administrative lawsuit seeking to nullify the personnel order against Minister Jung Sung-ho of the Ministry of Justice, along with an application to suspend execution.