"As a Member of the Legal Profession..." Prosecutors Stir the Emotions of Moon, a Legal Professional

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] On the 19th, posts arguing the unfairness of the 'Complete Removal of Prosecutorial Investigation Rights (Geomsu Wanbak)' bill continued to appear on the prosecution's internal network 'Eprose'.

In particular, phrases such as "as a member of the legal profession" and "as a legal professional" caught attention. These were written by Jeong Gwang-su, a prosecutor in the Policy Planning Division of the Ministry of Justice (49 years old, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 34), among others.

In response, some in the legal community interpreted this as "an expression aimed at stimulating the sensibility of President Moon Jae-in, who is a former legal professional." They noted that since President Moon is a former lawyer, the expression appeals to the emotions or pride held by legal professionals, urging him to reject the unfair Geomsu Wanbak bill. Cha Ho-dong, a planning prosecutor at Daegu District Prosecutors' Office (43 years old, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 38), wrote to President Moon, "As a member of the legal profession, I earnestly request you to at least once read how Article 217 of the Criminal Procedure Act has been amended."

While the Democratic Party of Korea continues to push for legislation, the voices of prosecutors are focusing on President Moon and National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok. They believe that the power to stop the bill now lies in the hands of these two individuals. There is also analysis suggesting that "from now on, it is the Blue House's time."

The day before, President Moon rejected the resignation of Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo and held a meeting, listening to the prosecution's opposition to the bill for about 70 minutes. President Moon emphasized, "The prosecution must continuously pursue self-reform and self-purification efforts." However, he did not directly mention the bill. He did stress, "Reform should be for the people, regardless of the positions of the prosecution or police. The legislation by the National Assembly should also follow this principle."

Meanwhile, at 7 p.m. that day, about 150 ordinary prosecutors gathered in the auditorium on the 2nd floor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office for a meeting. The meeting was conducted in a free discussion format.

A nationwide meeting of ordinary prosecutors is being held for the first time in 19 years since the meeting convened in 2003 in protest against the personnel policy of then-Minister of Justice Kang Geum-sil, which broke seniority traditions. Although meetings on topics such as the adjustment of investigative rights between the prosecution and police have been held, ordinary prosecutors from across the country had never gathered in one place to discuss.

At this meeting, it is known that they will share problems and cases arising from the passage of the Geomsu Wanbak bill collected from each office, and discuss side effects that may occur if normal prosecutorial duties cannot be performed as they are now.

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