Lee Won-seok Ahead of Confirmation Hearing, Known as 'Mr. Harsh Criticism'

A Straight-Talking 'Mr. Bitter Truth' Regardless of Seniority... Challenges of Prosecution's Neutrality and Independence
Lee Won-seok, Remarkable from the Start... Meticulous Work and Attention to Complainants' Appeals
As Trial Prosecutor, Investigated and Secured Conviction in 1.2 Billion Won Embezzlement Case

Lee Won-seok, Deputy Prosecutor General of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, who was nominated as the first Prosecutor General candidate under President Yoon Suk-yeol's administration, is expressing his thoughts on the 18th at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] The nickname of Lee Won-seok, the nominee for Prosecutor General, whose confirmation hearing is scheduled for the 5th, is ‘Mr. Bitter Truth.’ He speaks frankly to his seniors without hesitation and never withholds advice from his juniors. Among the current high prosecutors who are senior to Lee, there are even some who say, "I always get scolded by Lee."

Lee is known for giving his juniors instructions that are almost perfect in detail. A representative anecdote comes from the investigation of the state affairs manipulation scandal. Before the face-to-face questioning of former President Park Geun-hye, a junior prosecutor prepared a list of questions to confirm with the former president and reported it to Lee, who was the chief prosecutor at the time. Lee returned the questionnaire, marked up with a blue pen he often used for work instructions on almost every question, leading to rumors that "if you wrung it, blue ink would drip."

Since Lee took on the role of acting Prosecutor General as the Deputy Prosecutor General, senior officials and research prosecutors at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office have complained that his meticulous work style is suffocatingly demanding. However, many have also expressed that if they simply follow his instructions, the results are generally satisfactory, making the work somewhat easier. From the moment he was commissioned as a prosecutor, Lee pledged to "devote sincere effort to every case."

When Lee worked as a junior prosecutor at the Seosan branch of the Daejeon District Prosecutors’ Office in 2000, he grew suspicious of a traffic accident case handed down from his predecessor. The police had classified it as a simple traffic accident death and booked the suspect without detention on charges of violating the Special Act on Traffic Accident Handling, but there were many questionable aspects. After carefully reviewing the records, Lee instinctively recognized it as a murder disguised as a traffic accident to fraudulently claim insurance money and immediately launched a full reinvestigation. He uncovered that the suspect had killed two daughters aged 13 and 10, and two nephews aged 13 and 6, disguising the murders as traffic accidents. The ruthless father was sentenced to death in the first trial, and the Supreme Court ultimately confirmed a life sentence.

There is an anecdote from when Lee worked in the trial department of the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office in 2001. One evening, without any appointment, a man came to the prosecutors’ office pleading, "Please let me meet a prosecutor." Trial prosecutors have to handle dozens of trials a day, and after trials, they spend a lot of time preparing witness examinations and drafting opinions.

Lee, who was working overtime, took the man to the trial prosecutor’s office and calmly listened to him. The man, an employee of the Gyeongnam Political Net Fisheries Cooperative, revealed that tens of billions of won in deposits saved by fishermen in the cooperative had disappeared. Although Lee was initially skeptical, he could not ignore the fishermen’s plea about their lost assets and eventually launched an investigation himself.

It is rare for a trial prosecutor to investigate a completely different case while conducting a trial, even if they occasionally investigate perjury by witnesses or subornation of perjury by defendants in their own cases. At that time, Lee confirmed that a cooperative employee had manipulated the computer system for six months, transferring 1.2 billion won to accounts under the names of his relatives and friends, and was running a private loan business with the money. He was indicted and sentenced to seven years in prison. A senior legal professional who knows Lee well said, "From a young age, Lee has handled work and cleaned up his surroundings so neatly that there is hardly anything to find even if you scrutinize him."

Lee has been praised for restoring the prosecution organization, which had been disorganized during the previous administration, back to normal during his four months as acting Prosecutor General. Unlike the path he has taken, the road ahead will not be smooth. Passing the confirmation hearing is the top priority, and once appointed Prosecutor General, he must wrap up politically sensitive investigations such as the case related to Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and the ‘forced repatriation of North Korean fishermen’ case amid the implementation of the so-called ‘complete removal of prosecution’s investigative authority’ law. How he will address the issues of political neutrality and independence of the prosecution, which have arisen as President Yoon Seok-youl has appointed ‘special investigation’ prosecutors considered part of his own faction as Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General, is also a challenge ahead of him.

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