Request for Prosecutor General's Opinion by the 14th
Central District Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption Division Moved Under 4th Deputy Chief
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyungsoo] The Ministry of Justice is reportedly pushing for an organizational reform plan that eliminates four deputy chief prosecutor-level positions in charge of special and public security at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.
According to the legal community on the 11th, the Ministry of Justice sent a 10-page A4 document titled '2020 Second Half Prosecutor's Office Organizational Reform (Draft)' to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office this morning and requested feedback by the 14th.
The Ministry of Justice plans to submit the amendment, including the organizational reform plan, to the State Council on the 18th after consultations with related ministries. This includes revisions to the 'Regulations on the Prosecutor's Office Organization' (Presidential Decree).
According to the reform plan, four positions?Investigation Information Policy Officer, Senior Research Officer of the Anti-Corruption and Violent Crimes Division, Public Investigation Policy Officer, and Forensic Investigation Planning Officer?will be abolished, and new positions of Human Rights Policy Officer directly under the Prosecutor General and Criminal Policy Officer under the Chief of the Criminal Division will be established. If the four mid-level executive positions equivalent to deputy chief prosecutors at local prosecutor's offices are removed, a reduction in the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's command functions is inevitable. The Investigation Information Policy Officer was responsible for collecting crime information, while the Senior Research Officer of the Anti-Corruption and Violent Crimes Division and the Public Investigation Policy Officer coordinated recognition and public security investigations nationwide.
Instead, the Ministry of Justice decided to create deputy chief prosecutor-level positions to strengthen the Criminal Division and secure trial expertise. A deputy chief prosecutor-level Criminal Policy Officer will be established, and the Criminal Division, which previously had only two sections, will be expanded to five. The Trial Division under the Public Prosecution Department will also be increased by one.
The organizational structure of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, the largest prosecutor's office nationwide, will also change. The Ministry of Justice plans to redistribute the Criminal and Trial Divisions within the Central District Prosecutors' Office under the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Deputy Chiefs to improve the efficiency of workload sharing between the Criminal and Trial Divisions. This is expected to enhance the speed and thoroughness of handling civil cases.
The Anti-Corruption 1 & 2 Divisions, Economic Crime Criminal Division, and Fair Trade Investigation Division under the 3rd Deputy Chief Prosecutor, who was in charge of special investigations, will be moved under the 4th Deputy Chief Prosecutor. The vacant positions under the 3rd Deputy Chief Prosecutor will be filled with Public Investigation 1 & 2 Divisions and five Criminal Divisions. The Defense Business Investigation Division will be transferred to the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office.
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