[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Following high-level personnel changes and organizational restructuring measures that continuously reduce the prosecution's influence, the prosecution is officially responding with 'silence.'
According to the legal community on the 14th, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office issued a relatively calm statement immediately after the police investigation authority adjustment bill passed the National Assembly late last night. It was at the level of "respecting the decision of the National Assembly." This contrasts with the direct backlash when the bill was placed on the National Assembly's fast track in May last year.
Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol also did not show any unusual behavior that day. He only attended the 'New Chief Prosecutors Leadership Course' held at the Legal Research and Training Institute in Jincheon, Chungbuk, in the morning. The Prosecutor General has attended this event annually.
While the outward atmosphere appears 'calm,' dissatisfaction and resistance are clearly sensed internally. At the Judicial Research and Training Institute graduation ceremony the day before, a blunt expression came from Yoon Dae-jin, the deputy director and close aide of Prosecutor General Yoon, nicknamed 'Soyoon.' Formerly the head of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, Yoon was moved to deputy director of the Judicial Research and Training Institute in the recent high-level personnel reshuffle. It is said that he was almost the only one who did not applaud after the congratulatory speech by Deputy Minister Kim Oh-soo, who attended the ceremony on behalf of Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae.
On the 6th, when the police investigation authority adjustment bill was scheduled to be submitted to the plenary session, Kim Woo-hyun, head of the Suwon High Prosecutors' Office, who openly criticized the adjustment, tendered his resignation. After announcing his resignation, Kim criticized on the internal prosecution communication network, Epros, saying, "The essence of the prosecution system as judicial control over police investigations is being seriously ignored as the bill is about to pass the National Assembly plenary session." Earlier, Prosecutor Park Cheol-wan of the Changwon branch of the Busan High Prosecutors' Office also posted on the internal network, openly expressing dissatisfaction with the high-level personnel reshuffle. In addition, before and after the personnel changes, Park Gyun-taek, head of the Legal Research and Training Institute, and Lee Young-joo, head of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, also tendered their resignations.
From the prosecution's perspective, a series of prosecution reform measures such as organizational restructuring and investigation authority adjustment were already anticipated. However, as the announcement timing was somewhat earlier and the scale of personnel and organizational changes was more extensive than expected, a consensus is forming within the prosecution that this might be a 'prosecution kill.' Moreover, as the passage of the investigation authority adjustment bill in the National Assembly coincided with this period, this sentiment is expected to continue.
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