Handonghun's Return and Park Eunjeong's Promotion to Chief Prosecutor? ... High Possibility of Chief Prosecutor Personnel Changes Today

Promotion Likely for 30th Class Prosecutors Kim Tae-hoon and Jin Jae-sun

Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye (left) and Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo are entering the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office on the afternoon of the 3rd to discuss personnel matters in the prosecution.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Park Beom-gye, Minister of Justice, is expected to carry out personnel appointments for senior prosecutors at the level of chief prosecutors or higher as early as the 4th.

In this personnel reshuffle, attention is focused on who will be appointed as the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, the largest prosecution office in the country, succeeding Lee Seong-yoon, and whether the pattern of demoting officials who led investigations related to the administration and promoting prosecutors with a pro-government stance to key positions will be repeated.

It is also worth watching the whereabouts of Prosecutor Lee, who has become a defendant, the possible return of Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon, who has been sidelined at the Judicial Research and Training Institute, and whether Park Eun-jung, the Ministry of Justice's Inspection Officer who played a key role as the right-hand person of then Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae during the disciplinary request process against former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl last year, will be promoted to chief prosecutor.

After a 2-hour meeting, Minister Park and Prosecutor General Kim show contrasting reactions... Kim says "More time is needed"

The day before, Minister Park and Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo met to discuss personnel appointments for prosecutors at the level of high prosecutors such as senior prosecutors and chief prosecutors, and held a marathon consultation for about five hours including dinner time.

Additional discussions following an unplanned dinner between the two have increased the likelihood that the personnel announcement will be made on the same day rather than being postponed to next week.

The meeting between the two started at 4 p.m. the previous day. As he entered the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-dong, Seoul, the meeting venue, Prosecutor General Kim said, "I will strongly discuss many things with the Minister."

This can be understood as meaning that he intends to fully express his views on the prosecution's stance on the Ministry of Justice's proposed prosecution organization reform plan and the personnel appointments for senior prosecutors at the level of chief prosecutors or higher.

It is reported that the atmosphere before the meeting started was not bad. When Prosecutor General Kim said he would speak strongly inside the high prosecutors' office building, Minister Park, who was watching nearby, repeated Kim's words, "Strongly discuss many things..." and then smiled and said, "Then I will listen carefully to the Prosecutor General's remarks."

The first meeting between the two lasted about two hours from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The first hour was held with Lee Jeong-su, Director of the Ministry of Justice's Prosecution Bureau, and Jo Jong-tae, Director of the Planning and Coordination Office of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, attending, followed by about an hour of a private meeting between Minister Park and Prosecutor General Kim.

The reactions of the two after the meeting were contrasting.

Prosecutor General Kim told reporters after the meeting, "I tried my best to give my opinions and explanations during the two hours, but I think I need more time."

Although he avoided a direct answer when asked if there was a conflict of opinions by saying "More time is needed," it can be inferred that there were differences of opinion between Minister Park and Prosecutor General Kim regarding the personnel appointments for key positions.

Regarding the organizational reform plan, Prosecutor General Kim also stated, "I expressed the opinion that, as the prosecution members are concerned, parts directly related to people's lives, such as the six major crimes, should be allowed to be investigated directly."

On the other hand, Minister Park, upon leaving the building after the meeting, said, "I have nothing to say," and only responded, "I listened very thoroughly and in detail," when asked by reporters about the organizational reform plan.

When asked if there was a conflict of opinions, he replied, "I don't think it's a matter to talk about conflicts of opinions."

Differences over Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon's return... Unplanned dinner and discussions until after 9 p.m.

There is analysis around the prosecution that there were differences between the two regarding Prosecutor Han's return to frontline prosecution offices. However, it is reported that Prosecutor Lee's whereabouts were not discussed.

Prosecutor Han was transferred from Deputy Chief Prosecutor of Busan High Prosecutors' Office to a research fellow at the Judicial Research and Training Institute in June last year, effectively excluding him from investigation-related duties, due to his involvement in the 'Channel A coercion attempt' case.

At that time, Minister Choo ordered an inspection of Prosecutor Han, and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office conducted a strong investigation against him but ultimately failed to prove his charges.

Prosecutor Lee ignored the investigation team's and Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's command line reports recommending non-prosecution of Prosecutor Han and delayed approval, causing a collective backlash.

After the meeting between Minister Park and Prosecutor General Kim the day before, the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office issued a joint statement through their spokespersons, stating, "Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye and Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo discussed specific personnel plans for the promotion and transfer of prosecutors at the chief prosecutor level from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. today in the 15th-floor conference room of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office."

They added, "Furthermore, the Prosecutor General conveyed frontline concerns and improvement plans regarding the ongoing organizational reform plan, and the Minister of Justice agreed to seek improvement plans within the broader framework of prosecution reform."

Until then, it was widely expected that the personnel announcement would be postponed to next week as the consultation between Minister Park and Prosecutor General Kim had failed and further discussions were needed.

However, at 8:55 p.m. the previous day, the Ministry of Justice informed the press corps through a notice that "Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye and Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo have been having additional discussions over dinner since 6:30 p.m."

The additional discussion between the two reportedly ended after 9 p.m., meaning they exchanged opinions for nearly five hours including the first meeting.

Interpretation differences on 'consulting the Prosecutor General's opinion' under the Prosecutors' Office Act... Attention on how much Kim's opinion will be reflected

When Minister Park took office, he met with then Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl twice in private before the personnel appointments in February.

However, he announced the personnel appointments abruptly on a Sunday without reflecting Yoon's opinions at all, sparking controversy over 'passing over' Yoon and former Blue House Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs Shin Hyun-soo.

Compared to that, the personnel consultation with Prosecutor General Kim has been carried out substantially as Minister Park promised.

Originally, Minister Park said he would listen to Prosecutor General Kim's opinions only once before the personnel appointments. Therefore, with the additional discussions held the day before, the possibility of Minister Park carrying out the personnel appointments on the day has increased.

Although the two exchanged opinions for a long time, it is uncertain how much Prosecutor General Kim's opinions will actually be reflected in the personnel appointments. Usually, in senior prosecution personnel appointments, the Prosecutor General personally selects his staff under the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. However, there is precedent where even the staff of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office during former Minister Choo's tenure were not reflected in Yoon's opinions and the Minister directly appointed them.

The Minister of Justice's consultation with the Prosecutor General before prosecution personnel appointments is based on the Prosecutors' Office Act.

Article 34 (Appointment and Assignment of Prosecutors) Paragraph 1 of the Prosecutors' Office Act states, "The appointment and assignment of prosecutors shall be made by the President upon the recommendation of the Minister of Justice. In this case, the Minister of Justice shall consult the opinion of the Prosecutor General before recommending the assignment of prosecutors."

The issue lies in how to interpret the phrase "consult the opinion of the Prosecutor General." That is, whether it should be interpreted as the Minister listening to the Prosecutor General's opinion on specific personnel plans and reflecting it in the appointments, or simply as listening to the Prosecutor General's opinion before the appointments, which would be sufficient.

The legal community's consensus is that it should be interpreted as the latter based on the purpose of the law. Until this administration took office, the Prosecutor General's opinions were sufficiently reflected in prosecution personnel appointments. However, since the appointments during former Minister Choo's tenure and Minister Park's appointments in February largely ignored then Prosecutor General Yoon's opinions, it is expected that there will be limits to how much Prosecutor General Kim's opinions will be reflected this time as well.

Three-way contest for Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Chief: Shim Jae-cheol, Lee Jeong-su, Kim Gwan-jung... Park Eun-jung, Inspection Officer, expected to be promoted to chief prosecutor

The most attention is focused on the successor to Prosecutor Lee Seong-yoon as Chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, where Shim Jae-cheol, Chief Prosecutor of Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, Lee Jeong-su, Director of the Ministry of Justice's Prosecution Bureau, and Kim Gwan-jung, Chief Prosecutor of Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, have been competing.

Initially, Chief Prosecutor Shim was considered the most likely candidate, but recently the possibility of Director Lee being selected has increased, although there are rumors that he himself is declining.

It is known that Prosecutor Lee hopes to move to the position of Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office. However, there is strong negative public opinion within the prosecution about sending Prosecutor Lee, who is a defendant, to a frontline prosecution office where investigations are ongoing.

Therefore, the view that Prosecutor Lee will be promoted to Chief Prosecutor of the High Prosecutors' Office and appointed as head of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, unrelated to investigations, is gaining traction. The head of the Judicial Research and Training Institute is the most senior position among Chief Prosecutors within the prosecution.

Attention is also focused on personnel changes for frontline high prosecutors and chief prosecutors who conducted investigations related to the administration, such as Kang Nam-il, Chief Prosecutor of Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office, and Lee Doo-bong, Chief Prosecutor of Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office, who investigated the 'Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant Economic Feasibility Manipulation' case.

Before the recent personnel appointments, the Ministry of Justice mentioned the issue of "personnel stagnation due to high seniority" and referred to "flexible personnel management." The legal community interprets this as hinting at demoting high-ranking prosecutors who do not voluntarily retire to positions such as Deputy Chief Prosecutor of High Prosecutors' Offices.

It is also noteworthy whether prosecutors who served as executives at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office or as staff at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office during former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl's tenure will return from sidelined positions.

Meanwhile, promotions to chief prosecutor are expected for the 29th and 30th Judicial Research and Training Institute classes in this personnel reshuffle.

Among the 29th class, Park Eun-jung, the Ministry of Justice's Inspection Officer who led the disciplinary request against Prosecutor General Yoon last year, is expected to be promoted as a female chief prosecutor.

Among the 30th class, Kim Tae-hoon, Director of the Ministry of Justice's Prosecution Division, and Jin Jae-seon, Chief Prosecutor of Seosan Branch of Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office, who served as the personnel team leader during Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo's confirmation hearing, are likely to be promoted to chief prosecutors. Jin served as Director of the Criminal Planning Division and Prosecution Division at the Ministry of Justice from 2018 to early last year, working alongside Prosecutor General Kim, who was then Vice Minister.

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