Kim Oh-soo, former Deputy Minister of Justice, nominated as Prosecutor General candidate on the 3rd.
[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] On the 3rd, President Moon Jae-in nominated former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Oh-soo (58, Judicial Research and Training Institute Class 20) as the new Prosecutor General candidate.
With Kim, who is three classes senior in the Judicial Research and Training Institute compared to former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl (60, Class 23), being nominated as the Prosecutor General candidate, attention is focused on the whereabouts of Acting Prosecutor General Cho Nam-gwan (Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, 56, Class 24), who was also recommended as a candidate, and Lee Sung-yoon, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (59, Class 23), who was a strong candidate.
A choice emphasizing stability at the end of the administration... "No surprises"
President Moon's selection of former Deputy Minister Kim as the last Prosecutor General of his administration appears to be an inevitable choice aimed at stable governance toward the end of his term and preparing for the presidential election period.
Kim, who was appointed as the first Deputy Minister of Justice under the Moon Jae-in administration, having consecutively assisted former Ministers Park Sang-ki, Cho Kuk, and Choo Mi-ae, has been evaluated as the person who best understands President Moon's governance philosophy, including 'prosecutorial reform.'
The fact that his name was always mentioned whenever there was speculation about key institutional heads such as the Fair Trade Commission Chairman, Financial Supervisory Service Governor, and Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Chairman shows how much trust the current administration placed in him.
Within the prosecution, Acting Prosecutor General Cho Nam-gwan, who struck a direct blow to former Minister Choo Mi-ae during last year's disciplinary turmoil against former Prosecutor General Yoon and has led the organization while maintaining political neutrality, enjoyed absolute trust.
It is also known that Acting Prosecutor General Cho received the most votes in the first round of the Prosecutor General Candidate Recommendation Committee held at the Ministry of Justice last week. Considering that all nine members of the recommendation committee, including Chairman Yang Chang-soo, were appointed or commissioned by Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye, and that ex-prosecutors appointed by the Ministry's Prosecutor Department and Minister Park were included as ex officio members, it was unusual for Acting Prosecutor General Cho, who had been at odds with the Ministry of Justice, to receive the highest votes. This indicates that Acting Prosecutor General Cho was regarded as the right person to stabilize the shaken prosecution organization, maintain political neutrality, and continue investigations into power.
However, from President Moon's perspective, having experienced former Prosecutor General Yoon, who had no hesitation in investigations against the administration while clashing with previous ministers, appointing Acting Prosecutor General Cho as Prosecutor General would have been a burden. Before the recommendation committee, there was even talk within the prosecution that "Acting Prosecutor General Cho has zero (0) chance," indicating low expectations for his appointment.
Since investigations related to the administration, such as the 'Kim Hak-ui illegal deportation' case involving Blue House personnel including Lee Kwang-chul, the Civil Affairs Secretary, and the 'Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant' case, are still ongoing, it was expected around the prosecution that President Moon would have no choice but to select the most 'trustworthy' Prosecutor General.
Unprecedented seniority reversal... Lee Sung-yoon's wider maneuvering room
In the past, it was customary in the prosecution for the next Prosecutor General to be appointed from one or two classes junior in the Judicial Research and Training Institute.
When a Prosecutor General candidate was nominated, senior prosecutors of higher classes than the candidate, as well as prosecutors of the same class, usually retired voluntarily to show consideration for the new Prosecutor General and to open promotion opportunities for junior prosecutors.
Before the candidate's formal appointment after the confirmation hearing, it was customary to resign or step down to positions such as Chairman of the Korea Legal Aid Corporation or Director of the Criminal Policy Research Institute, institutions where former prosecutors could be appointed, if they were not assigned to high-ranking personnel positions immediately after appointment.
However, when former Prosecutor General Yoon was appointed in a groundbreaking manner despite being five classes junior to his predecessor Moon Moo-il (Class 18), the Ministry of Justice encouraged senior prosecutors of the same or higher classes to remain in the prosecution, and many actually stayed.
This time, a 'seniority reversal' occurred in the opposite direction, and this is the first time in prosecution history that a Prosecutor General candidate was nominated from a class senior to the incumbent Prosecutor General.
Compared to the case where Acting Prosecutor General Cho Nam-gwan, one class junior to former Prosecutor General Yoon, was nominated, Lee Sung-yoon, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and a classmate of Yoon, now has a wider scope of maneuver.
If Acting Prosecutor General Cho, Class 24, had been nominated, Lee, Class 23, would have had to consider retirement immediately, but with former Deputy Minister Kim, who is three classes senior, nominated, Lee is freed from such concerns for now.
There is also speculation that President Moon's final nomination of former Deputy Minister Kim included some consideration for Lee. Although Lee has become a suspect under investigation by both the prosecution and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) on charges of 'investigation interference' related to the 'Kim Hak-ui illegal deportation' case, distancing him from the Prosecutor General position, he has gained trust by showing a clear pro-government stance in handling important cases such as the 'Channel A coercion attempt' case and the 'Blue House election interference' case, leaving open the possibility of continued appointment.
Attention on Park Beom-gye's high-ranking prosecution personnel reshuffle... Expecting a large-scale reshuffle
Once former Deputy Minister Kim is confirmed as the new Prosecutor General through the National Assembly confirmation hearing, a high-ranking personnel reshuffle in the prosecution is expected soon.
Since former Deputy Minister Kim is senior in class to the current senior prosecutors and chiefs remaining in the prosecution, the number of high-ranking officials deciding to retire ahead of the reshuffle is expected to be relatively small.
However, Acting Prosecutor General Cho, having served as the head of the prosecution since former Prosecutor General Yoon's resignation, is widely expected to find it difficult to return to a frontline senior prosecutor position.
There is also speculation that Lee may be reappointed as Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, but given his status as a suspect and the importance of ongoing investigations at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, both President Moon and Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye are likely to find it burdensome to keep him in that position.
Therefore, it is expected that Lee will be promoted to a frontline senior prosecutor position, compensating for his siding with the government and Ministry of Justice against former Prosecutor General Yoon and others, while also easing his disappointment at not being nominated as Prosecutor General this time.
The high-ranking personnel reshuffle following the Prosecutor General's appointment is expected to be large in scale. The previous reshuffle in February, the first under Minister Park, was limited to the transfer of four prosecutors at the level of Supreme Prosecutors' Office prosecutors due to disagreements between Minister Park and former Prosecutor General Yoon's then Blue House Civil Affairs Secretary Shin Hyun-soo over Lee's reappointment.
In particular, this reshuffle is expected to include demotions of prosecutors who clashed with former Prosecutor General Yoon by posting critical comments about former Minister Choo during the disciplinary process and prosecutors who led investigations related to the administration, which is expected to plunge the prosecution into another storm.
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