Ministry of Justice to Reclaim National Litigation Authority Delegated to Prosecutors' Offices at All Levels for 'Unification'

On the 9th, when the Supreme Prosecutors' Office decided that the Channel A case would be investigated by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office itself, reporters were waiting in front of the Ministry of Justice in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, to ask Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae for her position. / Gwacheon = Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Ministry of Justice has decided to take back the authority to direct and approve national and administrative lawsuits that had been entrusted to various prosecution offices.

This is to concentrate the national litigation capabilities within the Ministry of Justice, as the litigation environment has significantly changed with the activation of electronic litigation.

The Ministry of Justice announced on the 5th that by the end of this year, the authority of the Minister of Justice to approve and direct administrative lawsuits and approve national lawsuits, which had been delegated to the prosecution, will be transferred back to the Ministry of Justice.

The authority to direct national lawsuits will also be brought back to the Ministry of Justice in the future.

According to the "Act on Litigation Involving the State (National Litigation Act)," the Minister of Justice represents the state in lawsuits where the state is a party or participant.

In administrative lawsuits, the head of the administrative agency is to follow the direction of the Minister of Justice.

However, as the number of national litigation cases increased in courts nationwide, it became difficult for the Ministry of Justice to directly handle or direct them, so through legal amendments, the Minister's authority to direct national and administrative lawsuits was dispersed and delegated to various prosecution offices.

A Ministry of Justice official explained, "Unlike in the past, the litigation environment has changed due to the activation of electronic litigation and the development of transportation means," adding that there is less reason to disperse litigation capabilities to local areas. They also added, "There was also an issue of decreased efficiency due to litigation capabilities being dispersed nationwide."

The Ministry of Justice announced that it will establish a Litigation Review Officer and an Administrative Litigation Division under the Legal Affairs Office to reorganize the national litigation system. The current National Litigation Division will also be renamed the National Litigation Department and expanded and reorganized.

However, some analysts interpret this decision by the Ministry of Justice as an attempt to reduce the prosecution's authority.

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