[New Year's Address] President Kim Osu: "Prosecutors Must Not Be Suspected of Political Neutrality"

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] Prosecutor General Kim Osu emphasized maintaining the fairness and political neutrality of the prosecution as the new year 2022 begins. With the presidential election scheduled for this year, he stated that neutrality must not be questioned and urged even those members not involved in investigations to be cautious in their words and actions.

On the 31st, through his New Year's address, Prosecutor General Kim said, "The hopeful new year of Im In-nyeon has dawned," and expressed deep gratitude for everyone's hard work in doing their best under difficult conditions such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic for the second consecutive year.

He also shared his reflections on the transition of the criminal justice system experienced by the prosecution this year. Kim stated, "Last year, when the criminal justice system underwent major changes, the prosecution faced tremendous changes and difficulties, and there were many concerns and worries from the public. However, thanks to your diligent preparation and creative responses, we minimized operational confusion and public inconvenience, laying the foundation for the new criminal justice system to settle in."

Specifically, he mentioned the launch of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's 'People-Centered Prosecution Promotion Team' and task forces in six high prosecutors' offices to improve prosecution work. Kim said, "We restrained direct investigations to only the necessary scope, focusing more on handling criminal cases and conducting trials, ensuring that prosecutors in the criminal and trial divisions responsible for these tasks are properly evaluated."

He also gave New Year's requests to the prosecution members. Kim emphasized five points: ▲ carrying out people-centered work ▲ strengthening crime response capabilities ▲ thoroughly protecting human rights and judicial control ▲ maintaining fairness and political neutrality ▲ communicating and showing consideration.

In particular, Kim stated, "This year, presidential and local elections are scheduled," and added, "All prosecution members who are not directly involved in investigations must also be cautious in their words and actions to ensure that the prosecution is not suspected of political bias." He continued, "To enable the public to exercise their right to make the right choice, we must respond strictly and firmly to illegal acts and unfair practices, while conducting investigations with prudence and restraint."

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