Ministry of Justice's 'Organizational Restructuring Plan' Leaves Prosecution in Dilemma

Prosecutors Submit Opinions on Organizational Restructuring Plan Today
High Possibility of Official Opposition... No Submission by Morning

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] On the last day of the deadline for submitting opinions on the Ministry of Justice's prosecution organization reform plan, the prosecution's concerns are deepening on the 16th.

According to the legal community on the 16th, the Ministry of Justice sent an official letter requesting opinions on the prosecution organization reform plan to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office two days ago, asking for responses by this day. It was confirmed that the Supreme Prosecutors' Office had not sent opinions by the morning of this day. A Supreme Prosecutors' Office official said, "It seems difficult to complete the submission of opinions by the morning due to time constraints," adding, "We are in the stage of collecting and organizing opinions, so we cannot mention a conclusion. However, we will definitely submit opinions within today."

On the 13th, the Ministry of Justice publicly disclosed a reform plan that significantly reduces the prosecution's direct investigation departments. From the prosecution's perspective, only two days were given to gather internal opinions. Considering that the overall internal atmosphere within the prosecution is negative toward the reform plan, it appears they feel burdened about delivering the collected opinions to the Ministry of Justice as is. This is because it could be perceived as a move opposing prosecution reform.

If the submission of opinions is delayed, there is a possibility that the Ministry of Justice might proceed with consultations with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety excluding the prosecution. In this case, the prosecution's opposition, triggered by high-level personnel appointments and the passage of the prosecution-police investigation authority adjustment bill, is expected to reach its peak. However, since the Supreme Prosecutors' Office has clearly stated its intention to submit opinions somehow within today, it is unlikely that a situation like 'prosecution bypass' will occur again.

If the prosecution organization reform is implemented, early personnel appointments for mid-level executives such as deputy prosecutors and chief prosecutors will also become possible. Inside and outside the prosecution, there is an expectation that personnel appointments will be made immediately after the reform plan is approved at the Cabinet meeting on the 21st.

A Ministry of Justice official said, "Even after going through the procedure of seeking the prosecution's opinions, if the prosecution side does not send opinions, it will ultimately have to be treated as 'no opinion'." Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution announced the day before that they will each launch organizations to carry out follow-up measures related to prosecution reform.

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