Park Beom-gye - Kim Oh-soo, Public Meeting Tomorrow Afternoon... Discussion on Personnel and Organizational Restructuring Plan (Comprehensive)

Visiting Kim Memorial Cemetery Followed by Meeting
Discussion on Prosecutor Personnel and Organizational Restructuring

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye and Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo will hold a public meeting on the afternoon of the 3rd to discuss current issues related to the prosecution.

Minister Park and Prosecutor General Kim met on the morning of the 2nd at the Gwacheon Government Complex for their first meeting since Kim's appointment and discussed the schedule for personnel consultations. The two had a friendly talk for about 50 minutes at this meeting.

Prosecutor General Kim conveyed to Minister Park the contents emphasized twice by President Moon Jae-in during the appointment ceremony the previous day, urging him to "encourage frontline prosecutors." Minister Park expressed deep sympathy for Kim's inaugural speech and it is known that they agreed to cooperate organically between the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution.

Following this, Prosecutor General Kim conveyed his opinions on the basic direction of future prosecution personnel and the prosecution organization reform plan, agreeing to meet at 4 p.m. on the 3rd at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office to discuss the details.

Minister Park told reporters on his way to work, "We will soon arrange a separate meeting to hear the Prosecutor General's opinions for personnel consultations. We plan to make it official and public." Regarding the organizational reform plan, Minister Park said, "The Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office have been continuously discussing it. We are reviewing the pointed-out issues as well," adding, "If Prosecutor General Kim speaks, we will listen carefully and review it prudently."

Prosecutor General Kim faces a situation where he must make significant decisions immediately upon his inauguration. These include prosecution personnel appointments, organizational reform, and investigations targeting the administration. In particular, coordination of opinions with Minister Park is crucial for personnel appointments and organizational reform. The prosecution has recently experienced confusion due to personnel standards and organizational reform plans reflecting Minister Park's intentions.

The core of the organizational reform plan is to eliminate the distinction between high prosecutors and district prosecutors to resolve the "personnel backlog," reversing seniority, and to abolish the direct investigative authority over six major crimes by the criminal division through organizational restructuring.

In response, senior prosecution officials such as Cho Sang-chul, Seoul High Prosecutors' Office Chief, Oh In-seo, Suwon High Prosecutors' Office Chief, and Bae Seong-beom, Director of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, have consecutively submitted their resignations. Depending on the stance Prosecutor General Kim expresses when meeting Minister Park, the number of resignations could increase or decrease. Since Kim has stated that "organizational stability" is an urgent task after his inauguration, he may actively present the prosecution's position.

New Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo visited the National Seoul Memorial Cemetery in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 2nd and wrote in the guestbook after paying respects. Prosecutor General Kim wrote, "I will uphold the patriotic devotion dedicated to the country and definitely create a people-centered prosecution service." Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

The issue of the position of Lee Seong-yoon, Chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, who is reportedly likely to be promoted to high prosecutor despite being indicted for investigation interference, is also a major concern within the prosecution. Prosecutor General Kim stated at the recent confirmation hearing that "I will give an appropriate opinion once I take office" regarding Lee.

Meanwhile, before visiting Minister Park, Kim visited the National Seoul National Cemetery at 8:30 a.m. that day to pay respects. Deputy Prosecutor General Cho Nam-gwan and other senior officials from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office also participated. After the visit, Kim wrote in the guestbook, "I will uphold the patriotic loyalty of those who devoted themselves to the country and surely build a prosecution centered on the people." In the afternoon, he will also meet Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo of the Supreme Court.

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