Court: State to Pay 10 Million Won Compensation to Im Eun-jeong for 'Prosecutor Blacklist' Case

Lim Eun-jeong, Chief Prosecutor of the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office Important Economic Crime Investigation Division Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Im Eun-jeong, head prosecutor of the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office's Important Economic Crime Investigation Division, who was reportedly placed on the so-called 'prosecutor blacklist,' won a lawsuit against the state seeking damages in the first trial.

On the morning of the 22nd, the Civil Division 41 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Jeong Bong-gi) ruled in the first trial of the damages claim filed by Prosecutor Im against the state, ordering "the government to compensate Prosecutor Im 10 million won," partially ruling in favor of the plaintiff.

The court stated, "At that time, the Ministry of Justice guidelines stipulated selecting individuals with a high likelihood of misconduct and allowed the results of focused inspections to be reflected in eligibility reviews and personnel decisions, which constitutes unconstitutional guidelines," and added, "Prosecutor Im was designated as a focused management target and was subjected to systematic and continuous unfair interference."

However, the court judged that the Ministry of Justice's disciplinary actions such as suspension or transfer of Prosecutor Im, or promoting her later than her peers, were not illegal acts, considering the personnel backlog and other circumstances at the time. The court also rejected Prosecutor Im's claim that some senior prosecutors engaged in workplace harassment.

Previously, according to the 'Guidelines for Selecting and Managing Focused Management Target Prosecutors' established by the Ministry of Justice in 2012, the Director of the Prosecutor's Office was required to select focused management target prosecutors annually and report to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office reportedly conducted inspections based on the list and reflected the results in eligibility reviews and personnel decisions.

Although the related guidelines were abolished in February 2019, Prosecutor Im filed a lawsuit in April of the same year, claiming that she was included on the list and suffered personnel disadvantages.

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