Ministry of Justice Holds Commissioning Ceremony for 134 New Prosecutors... Largest Recruitment in Five Years

86 Successful Candidates from the 15th Bar Exam, 48 Experienced Legal Professionals

A total of 134 individuals, the largest number of appointees in the past five years, have been appointed as new prosecutors. The recruitment of experienced legal professionals as new prosecutors was also advanced by three months to help address personnel shortages within the prosecution.

The Ministry of Justice announced on the 7th that it held a commissioning ceremony for new prosecutors at the Gwacheon Government Complex in Gwacheon City, Gyeonggi Province, appointing 86 successful candidates from the 15th Bar Examination and 48 experienced legal professionals. At the ceremony, Justice Minister Sungsoh Jung stated, "(The prosecution) must clearly demonstrate the mission and reason for existence of the prosecution of the future, which is to safeguard the rights of the people as a human rights protection institution."

He then outlined the future duties of prosecutors, including: the function of recovering criminal proceeds to provide substantive relief to victims; serving as a control tower for major crimes such as financial securities crimes and unfair trading crimes, which require a high degree of expertise as criminal justice professionals; maintaining indictments in open courtrooms to transparently reveal substantive truth; representing the public interest to protect the rights and interests of the socially vulnerable; and the execution of sentences to safeguard basic social safety.

Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho and newly appointed prosecutors are taking a commemorative photo after the commissioning ceremony for new prosecutors held at the Gwacheon Government Complex in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province on the 7th. Ministry of Justice

In the selection process for new prosecutors from the 15th Bar Examination, applicants currently enrolled in law schools last year underwent document screening, practical record evaluation, personality tests, and assessments of job and organizational competency. Of these, a total of 86 individuals—41 men and 45 women—who passed the 15th Bar Examination were ultimately selected and newly appointed as prosecutors.

For those with professional legal experience, a separate selection process was conducted for applicants who had accumulated more than two years of specialized experience in government agencies, courts, law firms, the Financial Supervisory Service, the police, and corporations. Of these, a total of 48 individuals—31 men and 17 women—were ultimately selected and newly appointed as prosecutors.

In particular, the Ministry of Justice reported that it advanced the selection process for experienced legal professionals as new prosecutors by about three months and also expanded the number of hires. The ministry explained that this was due to the urgent need to reinforce frontline prosecutorial personnel.

The newly appointed prosecutors will receive practical training at the Legal Research and Training Institute before being assigned to local prosecutors' offices. Those who passed the 15th Bar Examination will complete approximately five months of training, including practical internships at prosecutors' offices, while those with professional legal experience will complete about two months of training before commencing their duties as prosecutors.

On the same day, Gu Jahyun, acting Prosecutor General, also sent a written message to the new prosecutors, stating, "The prosecution is facing unprecedented changes in organizational structure, the scope of work, and case handling procedures," and added, "The more complex and difficult the situation, the more you must focus on what is essential."

He continued, "As legal professionals, I hope you will approach future cases based on the fundamental values that define prosecutors in the Republic of Korea, such as applying the appropriate law, exercising your authority to request warrants fairly, ensuring that punishments correspond to crimes while preventing injustice, and protecting the public."

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