Kim Osu, Nominee for Prosecutor General, Takes a Break on Children's Day... Accelerates Preparation for Confirmation Hearing on the 6th

Submission of Required Documents for Confirmation Hearing Within Two Weeks
Controversy Over 'Approval of Kim Hak-ui's Departure Ban'

Kim Oh-soo, the nominee for Prosecutor General, is arriving at the office set up at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 4th. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Kim Oh-soo (58, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 20), who has been nominated as the new Prosecutor General, will not go to work today (the 5th), Children's Day, and will resume preparing for the confirmation hearing from the 6th.

According to the legal community, Kim is not expected to go to the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, where the confirmation hearing preparation office is set up, on this day.

He is expected to intensify preparations starting from the 6th. The preparation team plans to organize the necessary documents for the confirmation hearing request and submit them to the Blue House within this week. Upon receiving these, the Blue House must obtain President Moon Jae-in's approval and send the confirmation hearing request for the Prosecutor General to the National Assembly.

It is anticipated that issues such as the suspicion of Kim's involvement in the travel ban of former Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui will be highlighted during the confirmation hearing.

Kim is known to have been the person who gave the final approval for the emergency travel ban of former Vice Minister Kim Hak-ui in March 2019 while serving as Vice Minister of Justice. He is suspected of having approved the travel ban after receiving a report from Cha Gyu-geun, head of the Immigration and Foreigners Division of the Ministry of Justice at the time. The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office has secured evidence related to this and recently conducted a written investigation of Kim.

Upon his first attendance at work the previous day, Kim stated regarding the related investigation, "I plan not to receive any reports related to ongoing cases," and added, "Regarding the conflict of interest case (related to Kim Hak-ui), if I assume the position of Prosecutor General in the future, I will recuse myself according to laws and regulations."

In addition, he is expected to face many questions about his emphasis on the stability of the prosecution organization, conflicts surrounding the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency (Gonggiwon) and case transfers. His assets of 1,373,850,000 KRW, as declared in the government's high-ranking officials' property disclosure, will also be subject to verification.

When Kim first went to work on the 4th, he said, "If appointed as Prosecutor General, organizational stability will be the most important thing," and added, "I am preparing diligently, and since there are many issues, I will prepare step by step one by one."