Supreme Court Confirms Victory in Cancelling Suspension Discipline for Former Deputy Chief Prosecutor Over 'Seizure Warrant Withdrawal'

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Former Jeju District Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim Han-su, who was suspended without pay for recalling a search warrant request submitted by a subordinate prosecutor to the court without informing the prosecutor, has won the final victory in a disciplinary appeal lawsuit.

The Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice No Tae-ak) announced on the 30th that it upheld the lower court's ruling in favor of Kim, who filed an appeal lawsuit against the Minister of Justice demanding the cancellation of the suspension without pay.

The court stated, "There are no special reasons such as serious violations of laws in the lower court's ruling," and dismissed the case without substantive review.

In June 2017, Kim recalled the search warrant request submitted by prosecutor Jin Hye-won, who was under his command, without informing her.

In response, prosecutor Jin submitted a report to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office requesting an investigation into the leadership, including Kim and then Jeju District Chief Prosecutor Lee Seok-hwan, accusing them of attempting to conceal and downplay the case.

Following an internal investigation, it was confirmed that although the district chief prosecutor had instructed a review of the warrant request, the responsible staff mistakenly believed the approval was complete and submitted the warrant to the court, which Kim immediately recalled.

The Ministry of Justice imposed a one-month suspension without pay on Kim, stating that he failed to properly exercise his command and supervisory authority by not communicating smoothly with the lead prosecutor, causing distrust due to "unjust interference by the chief prosecutor in the case."

Kim filed a lawsuit seeking cancellation of this disciplinary action, claiming it was unfair.

The first and second trials ruled in favor of Kim, stating that the process of recalling the warrant was lawful.

Meanwhile, Kim resigned in July last year and is currently working as a lawyer.

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