Prosecutors Decline to Indict in Case of Prosecutor Im Eun-jeong's Accusation of 'Prosecutorial Senior's Sexual Violence Cover-up'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The prosecution has decided not to indict in the case where Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lim Eun-jung of the Ulsan District Prosecutors' Office reported former Prosecutor General Kim Jin-tae and other former high-ranking prosecutors for dereliction of duty and other charges, alleging that they failed to properly handle sexual violence cases within the organization.

The Criminal Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Jeong Jin-ung) dismissed the case on the 30th, in which Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lim accused nine former and current prosecutors, including former Prosecutor General Kim, of dereliction of duty and abuse of authority. A dismissal decision is a type of non-prosecution disposition made by the prosecution when it determines that the conditions for indictment or further investigation are not met.

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lim filed the complaint in May 2018, claiming that in 2015, then Prosecutor General Kim Jin-tae, Deputy Prosecutor General Kim Su-nam, and Inspection Headquarters Chief Lee Junho stopped investigating sexual violence crimes committed by former Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim and former Prosecutor Jin and halted the inspection.

Former Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim resigned after it was revealed in the media that he sexually harassed a junior female prosecutor by comparing her to ice cream in 2015. Former Prosecutor Jin also left the prosecution that same year amid allegations of sexually assaulting a junior prosecutor. Although former Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim and others were not separately disciplined at the time, they were prosecuted following an investigation by the 'Sexual Harassment Incident Fact-Finding and Victim Recovery Investigation Team.'

At the time, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lim claimed on her SNS (social networking service) and other platforms, "From March 22, 2015, I repeatedly requested inspection and investigation into the prosecution's organizational misconduct through the Supreme Prosecutors' Office inspection reporting system, but on May 4, the inspection was halted with the approval of then Prosecutor General Kim Jin-tae."

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