Departing Moon Chan-seok... Chu Mi-ae's Fierce Criticism: "Flawed Leadership"

On the 10th, at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, during the nationwide district prosecutors' chiefs and election affairs deputy chiefs meeting, Moon Chan-seok, chief of the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, who openly criticized Lee Sung-yoon, chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, is heading to the cafeteria for lunch with Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] On the 7th, shortly after the appointment of prosecutors-general, Moon Chan-seok, the Gwangju District Prosecutor, who expressed his intention to resign, strongly criticized Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae's personnel appointments and the exercise of investigative command authority over the so-called 'prosecutor-media collusion suspicion' case.

On the afternoon of the 8th, Prosecutor Moon left a resignation message on the internal prosecution network, stating, "The Central District Prosecutor's investigation team has committed a fatal mistake," and "I have been a prosecutor for 26 years, but this is the first time I have realized that a case of attempted coercion is such a difficult case." Prosecutor Moon submitted his resignation after being assigned to the Planning Department Head at the Judicial Research and Training Institute, which is considered a relatively low-profile position in the personnel appointments announced by the Ministry of Justice.

He wrote, "Did the State of Zhao in the Warring States period suffer a crushing defeat at the Battle of Changping and have 400,000 troops buried alive in pits because it lacked talent?" and added, "It was due to the poor personnel management of a petty and incompetent ruler who appointed incompetent generals." This is interpreted as a criticism likening Minister Chu to a "petty and incompetent ruler" and the prosecutors who secured key positions in this appointment to "incompetent generals."

In particular, he pointed out, "Just as talent overflows like a river across the world, there are many righteous talents in the prosecution as well. It is worrisome and shameful that, despite having so many talents, this personnel appointment blatantly puts prosecutors who receive biased evaluations from the media as 'pro-government personnel' or 'Chu Mi-ae's prosecutors' at the forefront."

He also criticized the exercise of the minister's investigative command authority during the investigation of the so-called 'prosecutor-media collusion' suspicion case. Targeting Minister Chu, he questioned, "Where is the 'overflowing evidence'?" He further asked, "If that evidence had been secured, Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon should be in prison. He committed acts that a prosecutor should never do, so how can such a criminal still be free at the Judicial Research and Training Institute?"

He wrote, "Although they are called prosecutors, not all prosecutors are the same," and "A prosecutor's capability is built through long experience handling many cases." He also stated, "If one does not have the capability to discern truth from falsehood, there is no reason to hold the position of prosecutor."

Prosecutor Moon directly criticized, "For the first time in history, the minister unlawfully exercised command authority that stripped the chief prosecutor of the supervisory and command rights stipulated in the Prosecutors' Office Act, but it seems the subject case lacks substance," and added, "At this level, can't this be called a judicial disaster?" He also said, "The minister is a significant politician who has served as a five-term lawmaker and ruling party leader. Who should take responsibility for this disaster?"

Additionally, Prosecutor Moon expressed regret toward Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, saying he would leave the prosecution without a retirement ceremony. He wrote, "I feel sorry to the Prosecutor General who urged me to stay a little longer," and "I hope he will communicate directly with the front lines and present a vision for the new role and direction of the prosecution in line with the revised Criminal Procedure Act."