Hanbyun: "Kim Osu, Prosecutor General Nominee, Opposite of Neutrality... Opposes Appointment"

Prosecutor General nominee Kim Osu is arriving at the office set up at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 4th. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The conservative-leaning lawyer group "Lawyers for Human Rights and Unification of the Korean Peninsula" (Hanbyeon) opposed the nomination of Kim Oh-soo as Prosecutor General on the 4th, calling him "a figure completely opposite to neutrality."

Hanbyeon stated in a press release that "Nominee Kim served consecutively as vice minister under three Ministers of Justice?Park Sang-ki, Cho Kuk, and Choo Mi-ae?and was called the 'pro-government prosecutor top two' along with Lee Sung-yoon, the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office."

They continued, "Nominee Kim was booked in March 2019 on charges related to the 'illegal travel ban of former Vice Minister Kim Hak-ui' and recently underwent a written investigation by the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office. It is known that Kim, while serving as Vice Minister of Justice at the time, was involved in the illegal travel ban on the day it was imposed, acting in place of Minister Park Sang-ki."

Additionally, "Nominee Kim, known to be a suspect, repeatedly refused summons from the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office but submitted a written statement as the appointment process for Prosecutor General intensified," they added.

"It is unthinkable for a person who is involved in various illegal acts of the regime as its protector and currently under prosecution investigation as a suspect to become the head of the prosecution," they emphasized, adding, "We absolutely oppose the nomination of the Prosecutor General, which insults the quasi-judicial institution of the prosecution and destroys the rule of law in the Republic of Korea."

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