Who Will Be Appointed as Deputy Chief Prosecutor of Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office... Attention on Mid-Level Prosecutor Personnel Changes

Expected Announcement as Early as This Week or by Next Week at the Latest
Speculations Include 32nd Class Park Seunghwan, Lee Heedong, Dan Seonghan, Jo Sangwon
Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office 1st and 4th Deputy Chiefs Appointment
Attention on Whether Chief of Criminal Division 1 and Chief of Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2 Will Be Replaced

Last week, a sudden personnel reshuffle took place among senior prosecutors at the chief prosecutor level, drawing attention to the upcoming mid-level prosecutor personnel changes.

In particular, since all the first to fourth deputy chief prosecutors of the 31st Judicial Research and Training Institute class at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, who have been leading investigations into allegations related to First Lady Kim Geon-hee and the Democratic Party's cash envelope scandal, have been promoted to chief prosecutors, their positions are now vacant. Therefore, there is keen interest in who from the next class, the 32nd, will take over the baton.

Seoul Seocho-dong, Supreme Prosecutors' Office.

On the 19th, there were speculations around the prosecution that the mid-level prosecutor personnel changes might be implemented as early as this week. The Ministry of Justice instructed prosecutors from the 34th class, who are eligible for promotion to deputy chief prosecutors, to submit consent forms for personnel screening by the 17th, and requested prosecutors from the 38th class and above to input their preferred work locations by the same day.

However, unlike the earlier chief prosecutor reshuffle where consent for personnel screening was obtained in advance last year from the 31st class prosecutors eligible for promotion, and the personnel committee did not need to be convened?allowing for a surprise announcement?this time, the personnel changes targeting deputy and chief prosecutors involve a much larger number of candidates. Additionally, the status of unresolved cases at each local prosecutor's office at the end of the month must be reviewed, and the prosecution personnel committee must be held. Therefore, there is also a forecast that the personnel announcement might be made physically around next week.

Above all, the focus is on who will fill the vacant deputy chief prosecutor positions at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, especially the first and fourth deputy chief prosecutors. The first deputy chief prosecutor position at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office was formerly held by a chief prosecutor when the head of the Central District Prosecutors' Office was at the senior prosecutor general rank. This position commands investigations by the Criminal Division 1, led by the most senior chief prosecutor in the Central District Prosecutors' Office, which is currently handling the investigation into First Lady Kim's luxury handbag bribery allegations.

The fourth deputy chief prosecutor oversees special investigations and cognizance investigations at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. The former Special Investigation Division has been renamed the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division, which is considered the main operational unit of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. Currently, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2 is investigating First Lady Kim's alleged involvement in Deutsche Motors stock manipulation and the Democratic Party cash envelope case, while the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 is investigating allegations of election interference and public opinion manipulation.

Since the deputy chief prosecutor position at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office is a stepping stone to immediate promotion to chief prosecutor, the most senior prosecutors among the deputy chief prosecutors are stationed here. The 32nd class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute is the target for appointments in this personnel reshuffle.

First, Park Seung-hwan, head of the Ministry of Justice Policy Planning Division, is strongly mentioned as a candidate for the first deputy chief prosecutor. During his time as a junior prosecutor, Park worked in the Ministry of Justice's Criminal Planning Division and served as the public relations officer at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office from 2022 to 2023. He is regarded as a representative planner within the prosecution. Park Joo-sung, deputy chief prosecutor of the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office, who has extensive experience working in the Ministry of Justice's Prosecution Division and the Criminal Division, is also mentioned as a candidate. Park participated in the special investigation team for the state affairs manipulation scandal alongside President Yoon Seok-yeol.

For the third deputy chief prosecutor, who leads investigations into public security cases, Lee Hee-dong, the Public Investigation Planning Officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, is prominently mentioned. Lee was dispatched to the Ministry of Justice's Task Force on Unconstitutional Parties and Organizations during the 2013 constitutional dissolution trial of the Unified Progressive Party. He has served as head of the Public Security Division at the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, head of the Public Security Division 2 at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office (Election Investigation Support Division), head of the Public Investigation Division at the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office, and head of the Public Investigation Division 1 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, making him a public security expert. The Public Investigation Division 2 under the third deputy chief prosecutor is currently investigating allegations of election interference in the Ulsan mayoral race.

Finally, the most attention is focused on the fourth deputy chief prosecutor position, with candidates including Dan Seong-han, deputy chief prosecutor of the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office; Eom Hee-jun, Anti-Corruption Planning Officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office; Yoon Byung-jun, deputy chief prosecutor of the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office; and Cho Sang-won, second deputy chief prosecutor of the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office. Dan served as the inaugural head when the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office's Joint Financial and Securities Crime Investigation Unit (currently the Joint Investigation Division) was revived. Cho, while deputy chief prosecutor at the Seongnam branch, worked closely with then-branch chief Lee Chang-soo, now head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, investigating allegations of donations to Seongnam FC by Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party. Yoon is a special prosecutor with experience as head of the Investigation Support Division, Investigation Command and Support Division, and Anti-Corruption Division 1 at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.

Eom, who led the investigation into the Daejang-dong corruption allegations as head of the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, was considered the most likely candidate for the fourth deputy chief prosecutor position. However, a recent controversy over illegal wiretapping has become a variable. Some speculate that if Eom cannot be appointed as the fourth deputy chief prosecutor, Kim Young-cheol of the 33rd class, head of the Anti-Corruption Division 1 at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, might be a surprise pick. Kim, who has been dispatched to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Bad Story Special Investigation Team, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Central Investigation Division, the Securities Crime Joint Investigation Unit at the Seoul Central and Southern District Prosecutors' Offices, the Choi Soon-sil State Affairs Manipulation Special Investigation Headquarters, the Choi Soon-sil Special Investigation Team, and the Anti-Corruption Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, is a representative special prosecutor. Although allegations arose that he tried to persuade Jang Si-ho during the state affairs manipulation investigation, the controversy subsided after an apology message from Jang was made public last year.

Additionally, Bae Moon-gi, second deputy chief prosecutor of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, and Park Hyuk-soo, spokesperson for the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and former head of the Criminal Division 1 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, are also expected to be assigned to key positions. Following the recent chief prosecutor promotion, positions such as the first deputy chief prosecutor of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office and branch chief positions at Seongnam, Ansan, and Goyang branches, which are considered stepping stones to chief prosecutor promotion, remain vacant. It is expected that deputy chief prosecutors at major prosecutor's offices, including the deputy chief prosecutor of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, will also be replaced through transfers in this personnel reshuffle.

An incumbent chief prosecutor, Mr. A, said, "Any of the candidates mentioned would be suitable for the fourth deputy chief prosecutor position," adding, "From the juniors' perspective, they would think 'those who should go have gone,' rather than 'why is that person there? That's strange.'

Meanwhile, amid controversy over the simultaneous replacement of the top leadership in charge of investigations related to First Lady Kim, including the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and the first and fourth deputy chief prosecutors, there is also interest in whether those directly leading the frontline investigations, such as Kim Seung-ho, head of the Criminal Division 1 (33rd class), and Choi Jae-hoon, head of the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2 (34th class), will be replaced in this personnel reshuffle.

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