Yoon Appoints Former Seoul High Prosecutor Park Seong-jae as New Minister of Justice Candidate

by Lee Kimin

Published 22 Jan.2024 23:48(KST)

President Yoon Suk-yeol is reported to have nominated Park Seong-jae, former Seoul High Prosecutor's Office Chief Prosecutor (age 60, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 17), as the new Minister of Justice on the 22nd. This comes just one month after Han Dong-hoon, the Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, stepped down from the Minister of Justice position on December 21 last year.

According to the Presidential Office, President Yoon and his team were in the process of selecting a candidate for the new Minister of Justice, and on this day, the choice was narrowed down to former Chief Prosecutor Park. President Yoon is expected to officially nominate Park as the Minister of Justice as early as the 23rd.

Former Chief Prosecutor Park hails from Cheongdo, Gyeongbuk, graduated from Korea University with a degree in law, and passed the 27th Judicial Examination. As a member of the 17th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, Park served in key positions including head of the Inspection Division 2 at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, head of the Financial and Tax Investigation Division 1 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, and Inspection Officer at the Ministry of Justice, before serving as Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and Seoul High Prosecutor's Office.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Former Chief Prosecutor Park has had a longstanding connection with President Yoon since Yoon’s early days as a prosecutor. When President Yoon worked at the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office from 1994 to 1996, Park was working in an adjacent department.

Notably, when President Yoon was demoted to Daegu High Prosecutors' Office as a prosecutor in 2013 while investigating the National Intelligence Service’s online comment manipulation case, Park was serving as the Chief Prosecutor of the Daegu High Prosecutors' Office.

Since Chairman Han resigned from the Minister of Justice position, the Ministry of Justice has been operating under an acting vice minister system for a month. After former Vice Minister Ino Gong resigned on the 18th, Vice Minister Shim Woo-jung has been acting in the role.