Justice Minister Sung Ho Jung Orders Review of Returning Acting Prosecutors to Original Posts on First Day in Office

First Directive Upon Taking Office...
Review of Returning "Acting Appointment Prosecutors" in Lee Jaemyung Trial

On his first day in office on the 21st, Minister of Justice Sung Ho Jung ordered a review of returning prosecutors, who had been involved in maintaining indictments in trials of cases from other prosecutors' offices under acting appointments, to their original posts. This was his first official directive since taking office.

The Ministry of Justice announced on the same day, "Minister Jung has ordered a comprehensive investigation and prompt review of the appropriateness of the practice in which prosecutors from other offices have been involved in prosecutions through acting appointments, an issue that recently sparked controversy during court proceedings."

Sung Ho Jung, Minister of Justice, is delivering his inaugural speech at the inauguration ceremony held at the Government Gwacheon Complex on the 21st. Photo by Yonhap News

The Ministry of Justice explained that Minister Jung's directive is "part of measures aimed at enabling the gradual functional separation of investigation and prosecution within the current legal framework, in line with the reform direction of 'preventing the abuse of investigative and prosecutorial powers by separating investigation and prosecution.'"

In accordance with Minister Jung's directive, the Ministry of Justice plans to review, from a practical standpoint, the appropriateness and necessity of prosecutors' jurisdiction under the Prosecutors' Office Act and the involvement of investigative prosecutors in trials under the Criminal Procedure Act. The Ministry stated, "We will take immediate additional measures after the review." The Ministry added, "Going forward, we will actively implement all possible immediate measures to restore the status of the prosecution as a human rights protection and lawful oversight institution, in line with the direction of prosecution reform being discussed in the National Assembly."

The controversy over 'acting appointment prosecutors' surfaced in November last year when the Suwon District Court Seongnam Branch, which was presiding over the trial regarding the Seongnam FC sponsorship allegations involving President Lee Jaemyung, raised the issue.

At the time, Heo Yonggu, the presiding judge at the Suwon District Court Seongnam Branch, stated, "Prosecutor A, who belongs to the Busan District Prosecutors' Office, has been appointed as an acting prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on a monthly basis since September last year under the name of the Prosecutor General, and has also been appointed as an acting prosecutor at the Seongnam Branch of the Suwon District Court for one day each time the 'Seongnam FC allegations' trial was held, participating as a prosecutor. This dual acting appointment is deemed a violation of Article 5 of the Prosecutors' Office Act and is therefore illegal," and ordered the prosecutor to leave the courtroom.

Because prosecutor personnel appointments are usually made on a yearly basis, it has been common practice for investigative prosecutors to continue to participate directly in trials of major cases even after being transferred to other offices. The court, however, raised an issue with this practice.

In response, the prosecution has argued that, based on Article 12, Paragraph 2 of the Prosecutors' Office Act, which states that the Prosecutor General oversees prosecutorial affairs, and Article 7-2, which allows the duties of a prosecutor to be handled by another prosecutor, the Prosecutor General can lawfully appoint acting prosecutors nationwide.

However, Minister Jung appears to view this acting appointment practice as a form of abuse of investigative and prosecutorial powers, and has decided to consider ordering the prosecutors to return to their original posts.

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