Park Beom-gye's 'Seniority Disruption' Fallout... Ultimately, the 'Personnel Board' Expanded

Jo Sang-cheol Followed by Resignations of Oh In-seo, Go Heung, and Others... Mid-level Executives and Ordinary Prosecutors' Personnel Changes Expected to Increase

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Ahead of the prosecution personnel reshuffle expected to take place as early as this week, resignations from senior prosecution officials are continuing. After Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye pointed out the 'bottleneck in appointments at the chief prosecutor level,' a total of four senior executives have expressed their intention to resign. The vacancies left by them are inevitably affecting personnel changes among mid-level executives and ordinary prosecutors, making this prosecution personnel reshuffle larger than ever.

According to the legal community on the 1st, there are currently a total of 12 vacancies at the chief prosecutor level or higher. Starting with Cho Sang-chul, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office (age 52, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 23) on the 28th of last month, followed by Oh In-seo, Chief Prosecutor of the Suwon High Prosecutors' Office (age 55, class 23), Ko Heung, Chief Prosecutor of the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office (age 51, class 24), and Bae Seong-beom, Director of the Ministry of Justice Legal Research and Training Institute (age 59, class 23), all consecutively expressed their intention to resign the day before. Positions such as Planning Director of the Legal Research and Training Institute and Deputy Chief Prosecutors of the Seoul, Busan, Gwangju, Daejeon, and Daegu High Prosecutors' Offices are also vacant.

Due to Minister Park's repeated mentions of the 'bottleneck in appointments,' additional movements are expected among the 23rd and 24th classes of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, who occupy many positions at the chief prosecutor level or higher. Both Chief Prosecutor Oh and Chief Prosecutor Ko previously stated that they felt 'it was time to leave,' which aligns with this context. In fact, Minister Park is planning a bold reshuffle to resolve the bottleneck, including breaking seniority and reversing seniority. One plan is to flexibly assign chief prosecutor-level personnel within their posts, meaning some current high prosecutors might be assigned to district prosecutor chief positions. For example, there could be cases where high prosecutors serve under juniors as their superiors.

As a result, personnel changes among mid-level executives and ordinary prosecutors have also grown. If there is a large-scale reshuffle at the chief prosecutor level, promotions for deputy and chief prosecutors, which have been delayed, will naturally increase. The resignation wave among Ministry of Justice executives, starting with Deputy Minister of Justice Lee Yong-gu, who was under investigation for assaulting a taxi driver, has also become a variable.

The most notable personnel issue is the status of Lee Seong-yoon, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. Lee, who is considered pro-government, was indicted on charges of exerting external pressure to halt the investigation into former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui's illegal travel ban, but there is no possibility of him stepping down. Within the prosecution, the likelihood of his promotion to high prosecutor is considered higher than retention, increasing interest in his successor as Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.

Attention is also focused on when and how Minister Park will meet and consult with newly appointed Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo. On the day of his inauguration, it is unlikely that Kim will meet with Minister Park to discuss prosecution organizational restructuring and personnel matters in depth. The Ministry of Justice has stated that it will listen to the new Prosecutor General's opinions regarding the personnel plan, so the reshuffle is likely to be carried out immediately after the meeting between Minister Park and Prosecutor General Kim.

A prosecution official said, "According to the policy to reduce the number of chief prosecutor positions mentioned since the early days of the administration, some of the previously vacant positions may remain unfilled, but considering the situation at the end of the administration, a large number of vacancies may be filled first to clear the bottleneck in appointments."

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