Inogong Seongnam Branch Chief Submits Resignation Letter... First Resignation After Prosecutor Personnel Changes

On the 30th, as the summons investigation of Jung Kyung-shim, wife of Justice Minister Cho Kuk and professor at Dongyang University, by the prosecution approaches, staff members are entering the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Lee Nogong, head of the Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, who was appointed as the first female deputy chief prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, has tendered her resignation. This is the first resignation of a branch chief-level prosecutor following the recent regular personnel announcement by the Ministry of Justice.

According to the legal community on the 25th, Lee submitted her resignation letter shortly after being transferred to the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office as a prosecutor in the mid-level personnel reshuffle on the 23rd. It is reported that the resignation letter has not yet been accepted.

Lee was omitted from promotion to chief prosecutor earlier this year and was assigned to the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, a post perceived as a demotion, in the recent mid-level personnel reshuffle. Lee was appointed as the 4th Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in July 2018, when Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol was the chief there, becoming the first female deputy chief prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. She was also considered a strong candidate for the next female chief prosecutor. The current position as head of the Seongnam branch is often held by those eligible for promotion to chief prosecutor.

On the 24th, when the summons of Professor Jung Kyung-shim, wife of Justice Minister Cho Kuk, is imminent, the prosecution flag in front of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, is fluttering in the wind. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Recently, as the Ministry of Justice took measures to cut off Prosecutor General Yoon's 'right-hand men' through personnel changes, there is speculation that Lee, who worked closely with Yoon, was also targeted. Attention is focused on whether a wave of resignations from prosecutors subject to demotion will follow, starting with Lee.

On the 23rd, the Ministry of Justice carried out promotions and transfers effective July 3rd for 759 prosecutors, including 257 high prosecutors (deputy chiefs and chief prosecutors) and 502 general prosecutors. This is the second personnel reshuffle since Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae took office. In this reshuffle, all four deputy chiefs of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, who were conducting investigations into the current administration, were replaced.

Following the high-level personnel changes, which were evaluated as cutting off Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's 'right-hand men,' there is also analysis that the administration's investigation team has been completely dismantled in this reshuffle. From Minister Choo Mi-ae's perspective, by removing the deputy chiefs, she has been able to somewhat control the pace of the administration's investigations. Furthermore, by retaining the chief prosecutors and deputy chief prosecutors of the task forces handling current cases, she has created both internal and external justification for personnel measures that consider the continuity of investigations to the greatest extent possible. Within and outside the legal community, there is also an interpretation that Minister Choo preemptively prevented intensified internal conflicts by carrying out a large-scale 'purge' personnel reshuffle. Some view that the 'intended goal' has been sufficiently achieved merely by the purge of deputy chief prosecutors.