Newly Appointed Seoul Central District Prosecutor Chief Lee Seong-yoon Remains Silent Amid Text Message Controversy

Newly appointed Seoul Central District Prosecutor Lee Seong-yoon is arriving for his first day at the Central District Prosecutors' Office building in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 13th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Lee Seong-yoon (58, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 23), the new chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, arrived at his new workplace for the first time on the 13th. He remained tight-lipped about the various controversies surrounding him.

Prosecutor Lee arrived at the Seoul Seocho-dong Prosecutors' Office building around 8:55 a.m. When reporters asked questions such as "What do you think about concerns that investigations under the current administration might face obstacles?" and "What is your position on the controversy over text messages?" he did not respond and entered the building. Prosecutor Lee is scheduled to hold an inauguration ceremony at 11 a.m. in the auditorium on the second floor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.

Prosecutor Lee is one of the notable figures in the Ministry of Justice's personnel reshuffle at the chief prosecutor level. As the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, which is conducting investigations targeting the Blue House, there is keen interest in what course of action he will take. In the legal community, there is analysis that the Ministry of Justice appointed him?who is a classmate of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl?to the position of chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to check Prosecutor General Yoon. Prosecutor Lee, originally from Gochang, Jeonbuk, is a junior alumnus of Kyung Hee University Law School like President Moon Jae-in, and is considered a representative "pro-Moon (pro-Moon Jae-in)" figure within the prosecution, which adds to the speculation. Inside and outside the prosecution, there are expectations that Prosecutor Lee may put a brake on investigations targeting the Blue House and the ruling party upon his appointment.

Furthermore, on the 8th, around the time of the chief prosecutor-level personnel reshuffle, it was reported that he sent text messages to senior officials at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office who were subject to the personnel changes, which could be perceived as somewhat "mocking," sparking controversy. Joo Kwang-deok, a member of the Liberty Korea Party, held a press conference the previous day, claiming, "The beginning of the text message contains expressions that seem to provoke, and the middle part includes harsh words close to verbal abuse." The Ministry of Justice released the full text of the messages and denied the allegations.

Meanwhile, the Public Investigation Division 2 (Chief Prosecutor Kim Tae-eun) of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, which is investigating allegations of covert investigations and election interference, is considering reattempting a search and seizure of the Blue House's Office of Autonomy Development Secretary (formerly the Office of Balanced Development Secretary) on this day.

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