Ministry of Justice to Convene Prosecutor Personnel Committee Today... Imminent Announcement of Senior Prosecutor Appointments

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The Ministry of Justice will hold a Prosecutor Personnel Committee meeting on the morning of the 8th. Accordingly, there is a possibility that the appointment of senior prosecutors could be decided as early as the afternoon of the same day.

According to the legal community on the 8th, the Ministry of Justice plans to convene the Prosecutor Personnel Committee at 11 a.m. at the Government Complex Gwacheon to discuss promotions and transfers of senior prosecutors. The committee, chaired by lawyer Lee Chang-jae, consists of 11 members in total, including three prosecutors, two judges, two lawyers, two law professors, and two external members.

The committee was originally expected to meet on the 6th but was postponed once due to scheduling conflicts among members. However, it was reconvened immediately after Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol and Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae held an official meeting the day before.

The convening of the committee suggests that the major framework for the prosecutor personnel appointments has already been somewhat established. Therefore, if the personnel plan is confirmed as is, the announcement could be made as early as the afternoon of the same day. Typically, when the committee meets, the personnel results are announced either that afternoon or the following day. In July last year, the Ministry of Justice held the Prosecutor Personnel Committee in the morning and announced the appointments of 39 senior prosecutors that same afternoon.

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is arriving at the Ministry of Justice in the Government Complex Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, on the 6th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

However, since Minister Chu has not yet gone through the process of hearing Prosecutor General Yoon’s opinions regarding the personnel appointments, the timing of the final decision may vary depending on when Yoon expresses his views.

Previously, Prosecutor General Yoon met with Minister Chu at the Ministry of Justice minister’s office from 4 p.m. the day before and held a meeting for about 35 minutes. Some speculated that Yoon and Chu would exchange opinions on prosecutor personnel during this meeting, but it is reported that no such exchange took place.

Because of this, there is speculation that the two may meet once more either before or after the personnel announcement. The Ministry of Justice has also stated that a separate opinion hearing regarding the prosecutor personnel will take place. The prosecution also insists that the opinion hearing process must follow the procedures stipulated by law. According to the Prosecutors’ Office Act, the Minister of Justice must hear the Prosecutor General’s opinions when appointing prosecutors and propose their assignments.

It is known that the Ministry of Justice plans to fill eight vacant positions at the level of chief prosecutor or higher in this personnel appointment. Before Minister Chu’s inauguration, there were six vacancies at the chief prosecutor level or above, but the number increased after Park Gyun-taek, head of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, and Kim Woo-hyun, chief prosecutor of Suwon High Prosecutors’ Office, resigned on the 2nd. There is also a possibility that additional senior prosecutors may submit their resignations after the appointments.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.