Four of the chief prosecutors who issued a joint statement in protest after prosecutors dropped their appeal in the "Daejang-dong development corruption case" in Nov. last year have been assigned as research fellows at the Legal Research and Training Institute. In Dec. last year, three of the 18 chief prosecutors who issued a joint statement were also assigned as research fellows at the institute, effectively adding further personnel measures. The research fellow post at the Legal Research and Training Institute is considered a sidelined position within the prosecution, and successive administrations have used it for "demotions."
The Ministry of Justice said on the 22nd that it will carry out personnel appointments for 32 prosecutors at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office level, newly assigning seven and transferring 25, effective on the 27th.
The Ministry of Justice said, "This round of appointments is to build a new lineup to stably push forward prosecution reform tasks such as the transition to a public prosecution service and to allow prosecutors to focus on their core duties," adding, "Taking into account overall work capability, expertise, leadership, and internal and external trust, we newly assigned the best talent in various specialized fields—criminal and trial, anti-corruption and serious crimes, finance, and planning—as prosecutors at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office level."
Earlier, in Dec. last year, the Ministry of Justice assigned former Daegu District Prosecutors' Office chief Park Hyeok-su, former Busan District Prosecutors' Office chief Kim Chang-jin, and former Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office chief Park Hyeon-cheol as research fellows at the Legal Research and Training Institute for taking part in the joint statement. Among them, former chiefs Kim Chang-jin and Park Hyeon-cheol resigned after the appointments. Of the 18, former Suwon District Prosecutors' Office chief Park Jae-eok resigned in Nov. last year.
Chuncheon District Prosecutors' Office chief Lee Eung-cheol was appointed director general of the prosecution bureau at the Ministry of Justice, a post considered a key position within the prosecution. Lee is one of the 18 chief prosecutors who issued a joint statement in protest of the decision to drop the appeal in the Daejang-dong development scandal.
New prosecution bureau director general Lee Eung-cheol was appointed a prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in 2007 and has served as a prosecutor at the Ministry of Justice's Legal Affairs Office, an investigative officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, head of the Criminal Legislation Division and head of the Criminal Planning Division at the Ministry of Justice, chief of Criminal Division 1 at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, and Spokesperson at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.
Cha Beom-jun, head of the Trial and Litigation Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, was appointed Deputy Minister for Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of Justice. After being appointed a prosecutor in 2007, Cha served as an investigative officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, chief of the Public Investigation Department at the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office, chief of the Public Investigation Department at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, head of the Election Investigation Support Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and No. 2 deputy chief at the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office.
Seo Jeong-min, chief of the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office, was appointed head of the Legal Affairs Office at the Ministry of Justice. With the Prosecution Service set to be dissolved in Oct. and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the Public Prosecution Service to be newly established, the head of the Legal Affairs Office will handle various legal affairs, including whether to grant prosecutors the authority to conduct supplementary investigations.
New head of the Legal Affairs Office Seo Jeong-min has served as a prosecutor at the Ministry of Justice's Legal Affairs Office, an investigative officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, head of the International Criminal Affairs Division at the prosecution bureau of the Ministry of Justice, head of the Trial and Litigation Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and chief of Criminal Divisions 8 and 13 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. In 2008, Seo also published the book "Caught up in Sejong's corruption case - a reconstruction of the bribery case of Jo Malsaeng."
Seong Sang-heon, director general of the prosecution bureau at the Ministry of Justice, was appointed chief of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office; Cha Sun-gil, head of the Planning and Coordination Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, was appointed chief of the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office; and Kim Hyang-yeon, chief of the Cheongju District Prosecutors' Office, was appointed chief of the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office. Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office chief Kim Tae-hun was promoted to chief of the Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office. When Seong Sang-heon was appointed prosecution bureau director general in July last year, the ruling camp claimed he was a "pro-Yoon" prosecutor, sparking controversy.
Seven people were newly assigned as chief prosecutors in this round of appointments: new head of planning at the Legal Research and Training Institute Park Jin-seong; new head of the Narcotics and Organized Crime Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Hong Wan-hee; new head of the Trial and Litigation Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office An Seong-hui; new head of the Forensic Science Department Jang Hye-yeong; new deputy chief prosecutor at the Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office Jeong Gwang-su; new deputy chief prosecutor at the Daegu High Prosecutors' Office Jo Ara; and new chief of the Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office Lee Jeong-ryeol.
Park Gyu-hyeong, deputy chief prosecutor at the Daegu High Prosecutors' Office, was appointed head of the Planning and Coordination Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, while Lee Man-heum, chief of the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office, and Choi Ji-seok, Deputy Minister for Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of Justice, were newly assigned as head of the Criminal Affairs Department and head of the Public Investigation Department, respectively.