[Inside Chodong] Embarrassing Neutrality and Fairness

'The Moon Jae-in administration enhanced the neutrality and fairness of prosecutorial personnel appointments.'

Looking at the recently released 'Moon Jae-in Administration 4th Anniversary Performance Report,' the prosecution has enjoyed a peaceful era over the past four years, fulfilling its duties as the nation's highest law enforcement agency. It conducted fair investigations without pandering to the regime, and the government provided conditions for the prosecution to focus on its core tasks. All personnel appointments were made according to basic principles such as regulations, position management, and the Prosecutor Service Evaluation Rules.

The reality was different. The prosecution experienced its most turbulent times over the past four years. The public's fatigue from witnessing a series of incidents is too high to simply describe it as a 'process of patience for prosecutorial reform.'

There is no need to look far. On the 12th, when the government released its four-year performance report, Lee Seong-yoon, the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office chief who had risen as a prominent pro-government prosecutor within the prosecution since the Moon administration's launch, was indicted. Considering that former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol strongly demanded Lee's replacement to Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye before his resignation, the government managed to avoid the dishonor of creating the first 'defendant Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office chief' in constitutional history.

Even looking back a year, it is hard to imagine the government releasing a performance report wrapped in 'neutrality' and 'fairness.' After former Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae took office, the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office were in a standoff all day during the first personnel appointments, and eventually, even the Blue House intervened, stating "the appointment authority lies with the president," tacitly allowing the 'bypassing of the Prosecutor General.'

The subsequent appointments were evaluated as the so-called 'Yoon Seok-yeol faction massacre' and 'dismantling of the regime investigation team.' Personnel classified as part of the Yoon faction and those in charge of investigations burdensome to the regime were demoted. It was also observed that those who criticized the minister and the Ministry of Justice on the internal prosecution bulletin board were pushed to marginal positions.

The court's ruling that the Ministry of Justice's disciplinary actions during the Prosecutor General's suspension were unjust was a counterpunch to President Moon Jae-in, who approved the discipline, former Minister Chu who requested it, and Deputy Minister of Justice Lee Yong-gu who participated in the disciplinary process.

While the situation was unresolved, Lee's indictment has led to criticism of 'double standards.' Although the Prosecutor General was suspended from duty and faced disciplinary requests based solely on allegations, the district chief was prosecuted yet the minister argued that "indictment and suspension are separate procedures." This oddly overlaps with the situation last year when Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong Jin-woong, indicted for abuse of authority, was promoted while victim Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon was demoted from Busan to Yongin and Jincheon.

The time has come again for the public to verify whether the government's prosecutorial personnel appointments upheld neutrality and fairness. The confirmation hearing for Prosecutor General nominee Kim Oh-soo is imminent, and the minister has announced a large-scale personnel reshuffle after the next Prosecutor General's appointment. It is time to see how well the minister and the Prosecutor General arrange loyalists to protect the outgoing Moon Jae-in administration.

It is hoped that the 'Moon Jae-in Administration 5th Anniversary Performance Report' released a year from now will reflect prosecutorial reform achievements aligned with the public's expectations. Rather than wrapping it again in embarrassing self-praise, it might seem more truthful to omit it altogether, like the real estate policy quietly removed from the performance report. The public's eyes are focused more on results than words.