Kim Osu: "Glad that a significant portion of the opinions presented to the minister were reflected"... Moves to quell 'passing over' controversy

Kim Oh-soo, Prosecutor General. / Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo sought to quell the controversy over the so-called 'Chief Prosecutor Passing' after it emerged that his opinions were not reflected in the high-ranking prosecutorial personnel reshuffle carried out on the 4th.

On the same day, Kim conveyed through the Supreme Prosecutors' Office spokesperson that "During this personnel process, I actively presented my opinions to the Minister of Justice for the stability and harmony of the prosecution, and I believe it is fortunate that a considerable part of those opinions was reflected."

He added, "Based on this personnel reshuffle, I plan to actively strive to move forward as a 'People-Centered Prosecution'."

On that day, the Ministry of Justice conducted a large-scale personnel reshuffle, promoting and transferring 41 prosecutors at the level of senior prosecutors, including appointing six new high prosecutors and ten new chief prosecutors.

In this reshuffle as well, prosecutors classified as pro-government were appointed to key positions, while the prosecution office leadership involved in investigations related to the administration was relegated to less influential posts, repeating the personnel trend.

Lee Seong-yoon, the Seoul Central District Prosecutor who became a defendant on charges of exerting external pressure in the investigation of the 'Kim Hak-eui illegal deportation' case, was promoted to Seoul High Prosecutor as he wished, while Kang Nam-il, the Daejeon High Prosecutor who led the investigation into the 'Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant Economic Feasibility Manipulation' case, was demoted to a research fellow at the Judicial Research and Training Institute.

In particular, it was reported that Prosecutor General Kim, during a meeting with Minister Park Beom-gye the day before to discuss the personnel plan, opposed the demotion of prosecutors classified as close aides of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl and recommended the return of Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon, who had been demoted to the Judicial Research and Training Institute. However, none of these were reflected in the actual personnel reshuffle, sparking the 'Chief Prosecutor Passing' controversy.

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