Im Eun-jeong Passes 2-Hour In-Depth Eligibility Review

Im Eun-jung, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office's Important Economic Crime Investigation Division (49, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 30), passed the prosecutor qualification review on the 2nd.

The Ministry of Justice Prosecutor Qualification Review Committee made this decision after conducting an in-depth review for about two hours with Deputy Chief Prosecutor Im at the Ministry of Justice Government Complex Gwacheon in the afternoon.

Chief Prosecutor Im Eun-jung [Photo by Yonhap News]

According to Article 39 of the Prosecutors' Office Act, prosecutors, excluding the Prosecutor General, must undergo a qualification review every seven years after appointment. Among them, prosecutors judged to have low job performance ability are classified as subjects for 'in-depth qualification review.'

The Prosecutor Qualification Review Committee, composed of nine members including lawyers, prosecutors, and law professors, can recommend retirement to the Minister of Justice with a resolution of two-thirds or more of the total members. If the Minister of Justice deems this appropriate, they submit a retirement order proposal to the President.

It was reported that six out of nine total committee members attended the review that day. The committee members reportedly requested explanations regarding Deputy Chief Prosecutor Im's low work evaluations and so-called 'outstanding behavior' within the organization.

In response, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Im's special attorneys argued that deciding retirement based on work evaluations influenced by superiors' subjective opinions is unfair.

After finishing the review around 6:40 p.m., Deputy Chief Prosecutor Im said, "I told the committee members that I want to work as a prosecutor of the Republic of Korea, not as a Prosecutor General, Chief Prosecutor, or Deputy Chief." He added, "I cannot accept that my job performance ability is significantly deficient to the extent that I cannot perform normal duties, so I hope for a reasonable judgment."

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Im, who was commissioned in 2001, was classified as a subject for in-depth qualification review in last year's third regular qualification review. He was also classified as such in 2015 but was judged by the review committee to have no significant problems in job performance. In December 2012, he was disciplined after refusing to follow the order of a 'blank charge' and instead requested a not guilty verdict in the retrial of the late Yoon Gil-jung, secretary of the Progressive Party.

During the Moon Jae-in administration, he served as the Inspection Policy Officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and raised allegations of obstruction of investigation into the former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook case by then Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl. He is currently under investigation by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials on charges of leaking official secrets related to this case.

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