Yoon Seok-yeol 'Eases Pressure'... Prosecution Implements Organizational Restructuring to 'Downsize'

Despite Prosecutor General's Opposition, Deputy Chief Prosecutor-Level Organization Reduction... Scheduled for Cabinet Meeting on the 25th

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Ministry of Justice is abolishing the deputy prosecutor-general-level positions in the Supreme Prosecutors' Office responsible for special and public security investigations, which serve as the eyes and ears of the Prosecutor General. The Anti-Corruption Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office will be moved from under the 3rd Deputy Prosecutor to under the 4th Deputy Prosecutor, and a major reorganization focusing on the Criminal and Trial Divisions will be undertaken. Inside the prosecution, this has sparked talk that ahead of upcoming personnel changes, Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol’s influence is being systematically diminished.

On the 20th, the Ministry of Justice announced that the amendment to the prosecution organization system containing these changes was approved at the Vice Ministerial Meeting and is scheduled to be submitted to the Cabinet Meeting on the 25th.

The most notable point is the abolition of four deputy prosecutor-general-level positions that assist the Prosecutor General: the Investigation Information Policy Officer, Senior Research Officer of the Anti-Corruption and Violent Crimes Division, Public Investigation Policy Officer of the Public Investigation Division, and Forensic Investigation Planning Officer of the Forensic Investigation Division. The Investigation Information 1 and 2 Officers (Senior Prosecutors) under the Investigation Information Policy Officer will be consolidated into a single Investigation Information Officer position.

Until now, the Investigation Information Policy Officer was responsible for collecting crime information, while the Senior Research Officer of the Anti-Corruption and Violent Crimes Division and the Public Investigation Policy Officer coordinated recognition and public security investigations nationwide. These three positions, which assist the Prosecutor General, were known as the 'Top 3,' so through this reorganization, Prosecutor General Yoon has effectively lost all his information channels.

Moreover, Prosecutor General Yoon had already lost close aides in early this month’s high-level personnel reshuffle, which was seen as a 'pressure personnel move.' While Yoon’s close aides who were demoted in January either remained or were further demoted, many officials trusted by Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae have taken key positions in the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.

In fact, Cho Nam-gwan, classified as pro-government, moved from Director of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to Deputy Prosecutor General, and Shim Jae-cheol, head of the Anti-Corruption and Violent Crimes Division, took the important Ministry of Justice position of Director of the Prosecutor’s Office, creating a situation where they, along with Lee Sung-yoon, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, are pressuring Prosecutor General Yoon closely.

Furthermore, with Lee Jung-hyun, 1st Deputy Chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, and Shin Sung-sik, 3rd Deputy Chief, being promoted to head of the Public Investigation Division and head of the Anti-Corruption and Violent Crimes Division respectively, all the so-called 'Big 4' key prosecution posts, including the Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and the Director of the Prosecutor’s Office, are now held by individuals from the Honam region.

It is also notable that most of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office staff who assisted Prosecutor General Yoon were replaced again within six months. Minister Choo replaced all aides, including Deputy Prosecutor General Kang Nam-il, head of the Anti-Corruption and Violent Crimes Division Han Dong-hoon, and head of the Public Investigation Division Park Chan-ho, within six months as of January.

Especially, executives classified as close aides or 'special investigation experts' of Prosecutor General Yoon were either demoted or remained in their positions in this personnel reshuffle. Kang Nam-il, Chief Prosecutor of the Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office, and Yoon Dae-jin, Deputy Director of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, retained their posts, and Chief Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon also maintained his position as a research fellow at the Judicial Research and Training Institute.

This prosecution reorganization also focuses on excluding 'special investigation experts.' With the anticipated adjustment of investigative authority, 14 direct investigation and dedicated investigation divisions within the prosecution will be converted into criminal divisions.

Specifically, four Public Investigation Divisions, six Violent Crimes Divisions, two Foreign Affairs Divisions, and two Dedicated Crime Investigation Divisions will be changed into Criminal Divisions. Accordingly, the Public Investigation Division, which operated with eight divisions across seven offices nationwide, will be reduced to four divisions across three offices: Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, and Busan District Prosecutors' Office. The Violent Crimes, Foreign Affairs, and Dedicated Crime Investigation Divisions will be eliminated.

However, the Ministry of Justice has decided to include transitional provisions allowing ongoing investigations to continue within their current divisions despite the organizational changes, to avoid disrupting the continuity of investigations.

The Ministry of Justice stated, "We have continuously pursued organizational reforms aimed at reducing the total volume of direct investigations, and this recent reorganization is part of those follow-up measures. To ensure the smooth implementation of investigative authority reform laws starting January 1 next year, we will build a new operational system by gathering opinions from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, including frontline prosecutors' offices, and sequentially promote organizational reforms that align with the new criminal justice system."

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