Park Beom-gye "Personnel Well Balanced Between Reform and Stability"... Diverging from Prosecutor's Internal Evaluation

Avoided Direct Answer to Questions Regarding Prosecutor General Lee Seong-yoon's Passing

Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye./Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye described the personnel reshuffle of senior prosecutors at the level of chief prosecutor and above, carried out on the 4th, as "a personnel reshuffle that well balances reform and stability."

In this reshuffle, Minister Park promoted Lee Seong-yoon, the Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, who was initially expected to be appointed as the head of the Judicial Research and Training Institute unrelated to investigations, to the position of Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office. Meanwhile, Kang Nam-il, the Chief Prosecutor of the Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office who investigated the 'Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant' case, was demoted to a research fellow at the Judicial Research and Training Institute. This move saw a large number of pro-government prosecutors appointed to key positions, while prosecutors who investigated cases related to the administration were demoted.

Additionally, Han Dong-hoon, a prosecutor who was reportedly recommended by Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo to return to frontline prosecution offices, was transferred to the position of Deputy Director of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, where no trainees remain.

As a result, while there have been strong reactions within the prosecution regarding the bias of this personnel reshuffle, Minister Park himself appears to have given a completely opposite evaluation.

On the afternoon of the same day, while leaving the Government Complex Gwacheon, Minister Park responded to questions from reporters about the personnel reshuffle by saying, "I think reform and stability were well balanced," and added, "Overall, we also sought revitalization of the organization."

Minister Park also announced that the personnel reshuffle for mid-level executives would begin immediately following the senior executive reshuffle.

Regarding the mid-level personnel reshuffle, he said, "The reorganization of the system must precede it," and added, "The Prosecutor General has spoken a lot about the reorganization, and since there are parts that are understandable, I have arranged to meet him again."

About Prosecutor General Kim, he also said, "He is a reasonable person, so communication goes well."

Minister Park added, "These aspects are part of the larger process of prosecutorial reform, and they are necessary in the changed investigative environment, so there are parts I need to persuade."

However, contrary to Minister Park’s remarks, it was reported that the day before, Minister Park and Prosecutor General Kim discussed the chief prosecutor personnel plan for nearly five hours but showed significant differences in opinion.

In particular, Prosecutor General Kim reportedly opposed the demotion of prosecutors classified as close aides of former Prosecutor General Yoon during the meeting and recommended the return of Prosecutor Han, but these recommendations were not reflected at all in the actual personnel reshuffle.

Nevertheless, Minister Park responded to the controversy over the 'bypassing of the Prosecutor General'?that Kim’s opinions were not sufficiently reflected in this reshuffle?by saying, "There were quite understandable parts in Prosecutor General Kim’s remarks, and I tried to reflect those parts as much as possible."

Meanwhile, when asked by reporters about Lee Seong-yoon’s promotion to Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, Minister Park avoided a direct answer, saying, "It is difficult to evaluate one person’s personnel matter. I hope you evaluate it in the context of the overall personnel reshuffle."

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