"Delaying Promotion When a Member Becomes a Suspect Is Common Sense"
"If It's the Opponent, Praise; If It's the Regime, They Want to Crush"
Chu Mi-ae: "We Will Change Personnel Practices That Concentrated Promotion Opportunities on a Few Due to Special Cases"
On the morning of the 27th, the day of the announcement of mid-level prosecutor personnel appointments such as deputy chiefs and chiefs, Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is arriving at the Government Complex Gwacheon in Gyeonggi Province. / Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Professor Kim Geunsik of Gyeongnam National University, chairman of the Seoul Songpabyung party committee of the United Future Party, strongly criticized Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae's personnel reshuffle in the prosecution, saying, "If the other party asks, praise them; if they dare to question the regime, they will be purged."
On the 28th, Professor Kim wrote on his Facebook, "As Minister (Choo Mi-ae) said, the era of 'one or two flashy special cases' is over. Because the close aides of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, who were veterans in special investigations, have been ousted," adding, "(Yoon and others) were the ones who made achievements in special investigations such as the National Intelligence Service comment case, the Choi Soon-sil political scandal, and the clearing of deep-rooted evils under the Moon administration, and the people who promoted them to the positions of Central District Prosecutor and Prosecutor General were none other than President Moon Jae-in and the Ministry of Justice."
He continued, "In the past, they were praised and promoted for doing well in special investigations, but now they say you shouldn't succeed with special investigations," pointing out, "Those in charge of the Ulsan case investigation, Yoo Jae-soo case investigation, and financial fraud case investigation were demoted."
He further stated, "Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong Jin-ung, who risked everything to catch Han Dong-hoon but failed, would not have succeeded if the 'flashy special case' had been successful," and emphasized, "Since it was a failed investigation, was the lenient promotion a favor? In a normal organization, if a member becomes a suspect, no matter how unfair it is, the promotion is postponed. That is common sense."
Professor Kim criticized again, saying, "Jeong Jin-ung is a suspect but was shamelessly promoted," and "The personnel who promoted a suspect is a wrong personnel decision."
Earlier, Minister Choo carried out personnel changes on the 27th afternoon for mid-level prosecutors including deputy chiefs and chiefs, as well as 630 ordinary prosecutors.
In particular, in this reshuffle, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong Jin-ung, who was under investigation for 'abuse of authority' during the investigation of the 'media-prosecution collusion' suspicion case involving Chief Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon, was promoted to Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office.
On the 28th, the day after the personnel reshuffle, Minister Choo stated on her Facebook that she would "change the prosecution personnel system that has concentrated promotion opportunities on a few."
Minister Choo said that day, "Until now, promotion and selection opportunities and glory have been concentrated on a few through one or two flashy special cases," and emphasized, "Now, all prosecutors who are legal professionals should be able to fulfill their mission of pursuing pride and justice with balanced hope through personnel changes."
She added, "In this personnel reshuffle, as Minister of Justice, I tried to send a message of hope to excellent prosecutors who have devoted themselves to the criminal trial department," and "I believe that fairness and justice in the organization must be pursued even in matters where fairness and justice are required."
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