Resignation of Hwang Hee-seok, Head of the Prosecution Reform Support Group Leading 'Cho Kuk Prosecution Reform'

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Hwang Hee-seok, head of the Prosecution Reform Promotion Support Group who was appointed during former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk's tenure and led prosecution reform, tendered his resignation on the 6th.

According to legal circles on the day, Director Hwang submitted his resignation to Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae and stepped down. He was appointed as the head of the Prosecution Reform Promotion Support Group, which was first established by former Minister Cho in September last year, and supported the 2nd Ministry of Justice and Prosecution Reform Committee. However, amid expectations of a large-scale prosecution personnel reshuffle even before Minister Choo's appointment, he expressed his intention to resign and left the Ministry of Justice. It was reported that he denied rumors that he would be appointed as the Director of the Prosecution Bureau in the upcoming reshuffle.

Director Hwang is a non-prosecutor and was active in the Judicial Reform Promotion Committee during the Roh Moo-hyun administration. He also served as spokesperson and secretary-general of the Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun). Following the Ministry of Justice's policy to de-prosecutorize, he was appointed in September 2017 as the first non-prosecutor Director of the Human Rights Bureau.

Including Director Hwang, the number of high-ranking prosecution officials who resigned around Minister Choo's inauguration has reached three. Previously, on the 2nd, Park Kyun-taek, head of the Judicial Research and Training Institute (54, 21st class), and on the same day, Kim Woo-hyun, head of the Suwon High Prosecutors' Office (53, 22nd class), also submitted their resignations.

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