Indictment of Cho Kuk Without Detention... Is It a Measure Considering Mid-Level Executive Personnel Changes?

Investigation into Allegations of Yoo Jae-su's Inspection Suspension
Dongbu District Prosecutors Hong Seung-wook and Lee Jung-seop Subject to Personnel Changes
Case Seemingly Closed with Indictment Before Departure

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The prosecution's decision on the 17th to indict former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk without detention on charges of abuse of authority is analyzed as a measure considering the expected mid-level executive personnel reshuffle next week. Deputy Chief Prosecutor Hong Seung-wook of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, who led the investigation into the allegations of suspension of Yoo Jae-soo's inspection, and Lee Jeong-seop, head of the Criminal Division 6, are highly likely to be reassigned in this personnel reshuffle. The background of this move is said to be to finalize the indictment so that the ongoing investigations cannot be disrupted regardless of who comes to lead the next investigation team.

According to the legal community on the day, the Ministry of Justice plans to carry out a personnel reshuffle of prosecutors below mid-level executives along with the organizational restructuring next week. This includes deputy chief prosecutors and chief prosecutors nationwide. There is speculation that the major investigation teams targeting the current administration could be replaced to the extent of disbandment in this reshuffle. The Hong Seung-wook?Lee Jeong-seop line, which led the investigation into the suspension of Yoo Jae-soo's inspection, is also mentioned as a target for reassignment.

If the investigation teams' working-level personnel are scattered through mid-level executive reshuffles following the previous high-level prosecutor personnel changes, the investigations are bound to fizzle out. Therefore, the recent investigation teams are known to have anticipated the personnel changes soon, accelerated the pace of investigations, and focused on maintaining prosecutions for indicted cases. It is reported that the intention is to ensure that even if successors aligned with the current administration come, there will be no disruption to related investigations or prosecution maintenance. The indictment of former Minister Cho by the Criminal Division 6 of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office on this day is seen as persuasive evidence of this context.

It is not new for prosecutors who have targeted the current government to be demoted in prosecution personnel reshuffles. In the mid-level prosecutor personnel reshuffle conducted in July last year, prosecutors who clashed with the government over investigations such as the 'Ministry of Environment blacklist investigation' were pushed to less influential positions. The Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office was at the center of this. A representative case is former head of Criminal Division 6 Joo Jin-woo, who investigated the Ministry of Environment blacklist allegations and sent former Minister of Environment Kim Eun-kyung and former Blue House Secretary Shin Mi-sook to trial, being appointed as head of Andong Branch. At that time, former Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office Chief Han Chan-sik was omitted from promotion to high prosecutor and resigned, and former Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kwon Soon-chul failed to be promoted to chief prosecutor and subsequently tendered his resignation, which aligns with this trend.