Although Trials Are Strengthened... Prosecutors Without 'Tong'

New Prosecutors Mainly Assigned... Unable to Develop Expertise
Role Fulfillment Uncertain... Legal Community Says "An Opportunity to Settle Trials"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The prosecution system reform announced by Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae on the 13th centers on downsizing direct investigation departments and converting them into criminal and trial divisions. The aim is to strengthen the prosecution's relatively neglected 'trial' function and, in the long term, to shift the prosecution's nature from investigation to prosecution maintenance.

The trial division is the department that contests the defendant's guilt or innocence in court. When the investigation department uncovers criminal suspicions and brings the suspect to trial, the trial division works to secure a guilty verdict and enforce the sentence. However, within the prosecution, the ability to lead trials has been regarded as less important than investigative skills. New prosecutors were mainly assigned to the trial division, but it was common for them to transfer to investigation departments after about a year. This environment made it difficult to cultivate expertise and responsibility in trials. The reason why one could occasionally see 'disengaged' trial prosecutors playing mobile phone games in court reflects the reality that the prosecution's core focus has been on 'investigation.'

In the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, the largest prosecution office nationwide, the trial division consists of three departments under the second deputy chief, with about 35 members including the chief. Considering that the office has around 250 prosecutors, this accounts for only about 10%. The so-called 'undesirable department,' the trial division, is expected to grow considerably and emerge as a core department of the prosecution following the system reform announced by the Ministry of Justice the day before. According to the reform plan, the General Affairs Department and the Anti-Corruption Department of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office will be converted into trial divisions. This will increase the number of trial prosecutors to about 60, roughly doubling the current number.

Whether the trial division can properly fulfill its role as it grows remains uncertain. This is because a significant number of prosecutors still adhere to the practice of "just prosecuting well" without paying much attention to trials. Unlike special investigators specialized in recognized investigations or counterintelligence, the absence of 'trial specialists' within the prosecution is also cited as a reason. In the legal community, given the emphasis on strengthening trials both internally and externally, it is expected that trial work will gain prominence within the prosecution in the future. A lawyer in Seocho-dong said, "There is a consensus within the prosecution on strengthening trials, and since the current government's policy is also in that direction, this will be an opportunity for trial-centered prosecution to take root internally," but added, "However, realistically, it will take some time to reach that point."