Chief of the Inspection Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office: "Excluding Jeong Jin-ung from duty is inappropriate... Objections were ignored"

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Han Dongsu, head of the Inspection Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, has claimed that he "raised objections but they were not accepted" regarding the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's request to suspend Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong Jinwoong of the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office from his duties.

On the 15th, Han, the head of the Inspection Department, stated via social media (SNS), "I believed that the request to suspend Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong from his duties did not meet the requirements under the Prosecutor Disciplinary Act and was an inappropriate measure," adding, "Therefore, I submitted a letter of objection to the Prosecutor General through the Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office."

Han referred to the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office indicting Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong, saying, "The matter, the defendant and suspect, the handling process, and the outcome are sufficiently unusual and special cases in the history of the prosecution." He cited reasons such as "the use of force during the execution of the warrant by the prosecutor, which is expected to lead to intense disputes over guilt or innocence in the upcoming trial, and concerns that the investigation of the suspect and the trial overseen by Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong could be affected."

It is known that Han raised his objection before Prosecutor General Yoon sent an official letter to the Ministry of Justice on the 6th requesting the suspension of Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong from his duties.

Han further explained the situation at the time, saying, "Considering that the suspect is a close aide to the Prosecutor General, and that the Ministry of Justice Minister issued an investigative directive to exclude the Prosecutor General from the related case and to guarantee the independent investigation of the investigation team, I proposed discussing this matter at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office chiefs' meeting, but it was not accepted."

Han claims that subsequently, he was excluded from his duties and removed from the approval line, and the official letter requesting the suspension of duties was drafted and submitted to the Ministry of Justice.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office has not issued an official statement on this matter. However, it is known that under the Prosecutor Disciplinary Act, the authority to request suspension from duties lies with the Prosecutor General, and in similar cases, suspension requests have been made.

Meanwhile, the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office indicted Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong on charges of abuse of authority without detention on the 27th of last month. When there was no personnel action from the Ministry of Justice despite the indictment, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office sent an official letter to the Ministry of Justice requesting the suspension of Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong from his duties. The Ministry of Justice pointed out, "There are serious procedural issues, such as the head of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Inspection Department officially raising objections and being excluded from the approval process." Subsequently, the Ministry instructed the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Inspection Department to investigate whether there were any problems in the indictment process of Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong. Han, who is a former judge, was appointed during former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk's tenure.

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