Ministry of Justice "Formalizing the Procedure for Prosecutor General's Opinion Hearing During Prosecutor Personnel Appointments"... Promoting Improvement of Personnel System

Current Status of Prosecutors Nationwide. / Data Provided by the Ministry of Justice

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The Ministry of Justice has decided to improve the prosecutor personnel system by officially institutionalizing the procedure of consulting the Prosecutor General's opinion before personnel appointments.

On the 30th, Lee Jung-soo, Director of the Prosecutor's Office at the Ministry of Justice, stated at a press briefing held at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, "Previously, there were unofficial meetings between the Minister of Justice and the Prosecutor General at external private restaurants where personnel opinions were exchanged, raising concerns about the lack of transparency in the process." He added, "We will formalize and institutionalize the procedure of hearing the Prosecutor General's opinion, proceed transparently by receiving written responses after consulting opinions, and when necessary, hold meetings at official venues to enhance the substance of the opinion-hearing process."

He continued, "The purpose of exchanging personnel opinions in writing is to keep a record of what opinions were exchanged between the Minister and the Prosecutor General so that it can be referenced later," adding, "Records were also kept during the last prosecutor personnel appointment."

In addition, the Ministry of Justice plans to create a rational prosecutor personnel system that aligns with the new criminal justice system by ▲ institutionalizing standards and procedures for prosecutor personnel appointments ▲ strengthening the criminal division, women and child crime investigation division, and trial division ▲ enhancing prosecutors' professional capabilities.

The Ministry of Justice stated that since 2018, it has been working to lay the foundation for fair and transparent prosecutor personnel appointments by legislating and publicly disclosing detailed personnel standards and procedures that strengthen basic principles and equal opportunities related to prosecutor personnel, including the Prosecutor Personnel Regulations (Presidential Decree), Prosecutor Service Evaluation Rules (Ministry of Justice Decree), and Rules on Prosecutor Transfers and Position Management (Ministry of Justice Regulations).

They have strictly applied the principle of limiting metropolitan area service to three consecutive terms when prosecutors transfer to or from the Ministry of Justice or the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, strengthening the principle of rotation for general prosecutors, and in principle allowing only one dispatch to the Ministry of Justice, Supreme Prosecutors' Office, or external agencies to enhance equal opportunities.

Furthermore, when appointing chief prosecutors, they have strengthened the requirements for service in the criminal division and frontline offices, and codified the basis for multi-faceted evaluations to promote a horizontal organizational culture.

Meanwhile, to shift the prosecution's focus from cognitive investigations to criminal and trial divisions as well as human rights protection and judicial control, direct investigation departments have been converted into criminal and trial divisions, and outstanding criminal chiefs, excellent human rights supervisors, and outstanding criminal and trial prosecutors have been given preferential treatment.

To strengthen prosecutors' expertise by specialty, since introducing the 'Certified Specialist Prosecutor System' in 2013, a total of 183 certified specialist prosecutors have been accredited in 46 fields as of April this year, including 4 first-class (Black Belt) and 179 second-class (Blue Belt) prosecutors.

Currently, certified specialist prosecutors by field include 16 in sex crimes, 12 in taxation, 7 in fair trade, 7 in securities and finance, 6 in health and pharmaceuticals, 5 in intellectual property rights, 4 in victim protection, and 4 in crime proceeds recovery.

Additionally, 11 prosecution offices nationwide have been designated as key prosecution offices, and prosecutors working in specialized departments at these offices can have their mandatory assignment periods extended up to one year to continue handling their specialized fields.

The designated key prosecution offices currently include ▲ Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office Cybercrime ▲ Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office Finance ▲ Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office Taxation ▲ Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office Food ▲ Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office Environment ▲ Incheon District Prosecutors' Office International ▲ Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Advanced Industry Protection ▲ Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office Patents ▲ Busan District Prosecutors' Office Maritime ▲ Ulsan District Prosecutors' Office Industrial Safety ▲ Jeju District Prosecutors' Office Natural Heritage Protection.

A Ministry of Justice official stated, "Going forward, we plan to improve the service evaluation system so that prosecutors who quietly perform the prosecution's core roles such as human rights protection and judicial control can be properly evaluated, and to promote organizational reforms of the prosecution in line with this."

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