Park Beom-gye and Kim Oh-soo Met Yesterday to Discuss Organizational Restructuring Plan for 4 Hours... Will the Prosecutor General's Office's Opinions Be Reflected?

Minister Park "Significant Narrowing of Differences in Views"
Active Chief Prosecutor "Minister Is a Politician, Approval for Investigation Start Is Unthinkable"

Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo and Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye. (From left) / Provided by the Ministry of Justice

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] On the 8th, when the Supreme Prosecutors' Office strongly opposed the prosecution office organizational reform plan promoted by the Ministry of Justice, it was confirmed that Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye met with Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo to hear explanations about the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's position and held consultations.

On the 9th, Minister Park stated that the two had significantly narrowed their differences in views during the meeting the previous day. However, since the Supreme Prosecutors' Office fundamentally opposes the organizational reform itself, which restricts the initiation of investigations by the prosecution through the organizational regulations, which are presidential decrees, it remains uncertain how much the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's opinions will actually be reflected.

On that day, Minister Park, on his way to the Ministry of Justice Government Gwacheon Complex, told reporters, “I met with Prosecutor General Kim and significantly narrowed the differences in views regarding the organizational reform plan.”

The meeting between the two was arranged at Minister Park's suggestion. The meeting, which started at 8 p.m. after each had finished dinner, reportedly lasted about four hours until around midnight.

Minister Park said, “I suggested meeting because I judged it could be perceived as a very serious issue, and (Prosecutor General Kim) readily agreed,” adding, “We significantly narrowed the differences in views, including legal interpretations.”

A Supreme Prosecutors' Office official stated, “The Prosecutor General gave the Minister a thorough and lengthy explanation of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's position.”

On the 5th, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office held a department chiefs' meeting chaired by Prosecutor General Kim to gather opinions on the organizational reform plan, and the day before, distributed a ‘Supreme Prosecutors' Office Position on the Organizational Reform Plan’ to the press corps.

The statement included that the Ministry of Justice's attempt to restrict direct investigations by the criminal divisions of frontline prosecution offices through amendments to the ‘Regulations on the Organization of the Prosecutor's Office’ may violate higher laws such as the Prosecutors' Office Act and the Criminal Procedure Act, and contradicts the Ministry's previously emphasized policy of strengthening and specializing the criminal divisions.

In particular, it clearly expressed opposition to requiring the Minister's approval to initiate investigations, stating that this could seriously undermine the political neutrality and independence of the prosecution, making it difficult to accept.

The organizational reform plan prepared by the Ministry of Justice limits direct investigations by the prosecution even for the six major crimes subject to prosecution's direct investigation after the adjustment of investigative authority between the police and prosecution. For example, in the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, only the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division can investigate, and in frontline prosecution offices, only the lowest-ranking criminal divisions are allowed to investigate.

Additionally, in small prosecution offices headed by deputy prosecutors or chief prosecutors, dedicated investigation teams are to be formed for specific cases, but approval must be obtained not only from the Prosecutor General but also from the Minister, which has sparked internal opposition within the prosecution.

An active chief prosecutor A said, “The Minister's role should be to prevent external pressure on investigations, and according to the Prosecutors' Office Act, only the Prosecutor General can direct specific cases,” emphasizing, “The Minister is not a former prosecutor but a politician, so it makes no sense for the Minister to decide on the initiation of investigations.”

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