Daegum, Prosecutors Park Chanyeong, Park Hyeongyu, and Seo Sohee Selected as Exemplary Prosecutors for the Second Half of 2021

From the left, Park Chan-young (1st Bar Exam), Park Hyun-gyu (Judicial Research and Training Institute Class 39), Seo So-hee Prosecutor (Class 41 of the Judicial Research and Training Institute). / Provided by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] Park Chan-young (38, Bar Exam 1st class) prosecutor at Busan District Prosecutors' Office, Park Hyun-gyu (41, Judicial Research and Training Institute 39th class) prosecutor at Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, and Seo So-hee (37, Training Institute 41st class) prosecutor at Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Ansan Branch were selected as 'Model Prosecutors for the second half of 2021.'

On the 27th, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office announced that last month, under the chairmanship of the Deputy Prosecutor General, the 'Model Prosecutor Selection Committee' was held, and among 15 candidates recommended from high prosecutors' offices nationwide, these three were finally selected.

According to the Model Prosecutor system, implemented since 1997 to encourage excellent prosecutors working diligently at frontline prosecutors' offices, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office evaluates not only visible work performance but also public service ethics as prosecutors, work attitude, and routine case handling, and selects three model prosecutors each in the first and second half of every year.

Prosecutor Park Chan-young meticulously confirmed that the police did not follow seizure procedures during case handling and dismissed warrants, preventing illegal evidence collection several times in advance. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office explained about Prosecutor Park, "In a situation where the importance of judicial control is emphasized, as a dedicated warrant review prosecutor in the Human Rights Protection Department, he collected, selected, and shared excellent cases, establishing meticulous and unified warrant review standards." He received the Prime Minister's Commendation in 2017 (for low-income finance), and was consecutively selected as an excellent prosecutor by the Korean Bar Association for two years (2017?2018) for unbiased investigations and diligent trial proceedings.

Prosecutor Park Hyun-gyu served as the dedicated prosecutor for the real estate speculation crime task force formed in his office, reviewing and consulting on related legal principles and investigation directions to ensure thorough investigations, personally investigating major cases transferred, and cooperating with the investigative agency on 18 cases involving 58 suspects, demonstrating exemplary cooperation with the investigative agency.

He properly directed investigations into a false special injury accusation case against a rape victim, uncovering the truth of the matter, and after receiving the case, identified and arrested a false accusation offender, protecting an innocent sexual crime victim. Additionally, he reinvestigated a car company employment fraud case from the beginning, where one accomplice committed suicide and another shifted responsibility to the deceased, revealing the full scope of the case. He received the Minister of Justice Commendation in 2014 (for trial work merit) and was selected five times for excellent investigation cases.

Prosecutor Seo So-hee investigated a jeonse (long-term deposit lease) loan fraud case that the police had sent with a 'no suspicion' opinion, identified an organization of 21 members who embezzled loan funds worth about 6 billion KRW, and arrested and prosecuted four key figures including the ringleader and intermediaries, uncovering the substance of the case. She also proposed improvements to the loan screening system to prevent similar incidents from recurring.

She further directly seized 1.23g of methamphetamine during supplementary investigations to clarify the motive in a case of parricide sent under arrest, and identified charges of methamphetamine purchase, use, and possession, clarifying the case through direct supplementary investigations. Additionally, she set a precedent for exemplary judicial control by filing charges for violations of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act through supplementary or reinvestigations of cases where the police had suspended or not pursued investigations citing unknown suspect names. Last year, she was selected as an excellent trial prosecutor by the Korean Bar Association and was selected four times for excellent investigation cases.

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