'Wolseong Nuclear Plant Investigation' Prosecutor General Candidate Lee Doo-bong Also Resigns... Second Among Candidates

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Lee Doo-bong, Chief Prosecutor of Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office (Judicial Research and Training Institute Class 25), who was among the candidates for the first Prosecutor General under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, has submitted his resignation.

According to legal circles on the 23rd, Lee submitted his resignation letter to the Ministry of Justice the day before. Among the candidates for Prosecutor General, he is the second to voluntarily step down following Yeo Hwan-seop, Director of the Judicial Research and Training Institute (Class 24). This decision appears to be related to the nomination of his junior, Lee Won-seok, Deputy Prosecutor General of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office (Class 27), as a candidate for Prosecutor General.

With both Director Yeo and Chief Prosecutor Lee expressing their intention to resign, there is speculation in legal circles that additional resignations among senior prosecutors may follow. Due to the hierarchical culture characteristic of the prosecution organization, when a lower-class member is appointed as Prosecutor General, it is customary for seniors and peers of the same class to step down to ease the burden of command.

It is also known that immediately after his nomination, Lee contacted senior chief prosecutors and prosecutors directly, requesting them to "join forces for organizational stability."

Lee has served as Head of the Advanced Crime Investigation Division of the Central Investigation Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, Chief of the Criminal Division 2 at Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Head of the Special Investigation Unit on Corruption Crimes at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, 4th and 1st Deputy Chief Prosecutor at Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Head of the Forensic Science Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and Chief Prosecutor of Incheon District Prosecutors' Office. He has experience in both special and criminal divisions and led the investigation into the alleged scandal involving the Wolseong Unit 1 nuclear power plant while serving as Chief Prosecutor of Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office. His role in directing retaliatory prosecution against Yoo Woo-sung, a victim in the 2014 'Seoul City Public Official Spy Fabrication Case,' has been controversial.

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