Seong-Yoon Lee, New Chief Prosecutor of Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, "I Will Work Hard"... Private Inauguration Ceremony Today

Newly appointed Seoul High Prosecutor Lee Seong-yoon is arriving at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-dong, Seoul, on the 11th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Lee Seong-yoon, the newly appointed Seoul High Prosecutor General who was promoted in the senior prosecutor personnel reshuffle on the 4th, expressed his determination to "work diligently" on his first day at work on the 11th.

On the morning of the day, Lee arrived at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office building in Seocho-dong, Seoul, and responded to reporters asking about his inauguration remarks with this statement.

At 10 a.m., Lee will hold an inauguration ceremony attended only by the high prosecutors' office staff inside the building. The ceremony will not be open to the media.

The day before, he also held a private farewell ceremony for the outgoing Seoul Central District Prosecutor General with only affiliated executives attending.

However, in an email sent to all employees the previous day, Lee stated, "I constantly pondered over cases, ensured procedures that those under investigation could accept as much as possible, and did my best to reach the fairest and most objective conclusions."

He recalled, "Since assuming the position of Central District Prosecutor General, there was not a single day without sharp criticism due to distorted perspectives, and my words and actions were sometimes misunderstood or misinterpreted in ways completely different from my intentions."

In particular, Lee seemed conscious of the public reputation that classified him as a representative pro-government prosecutor, emphasizing, "I take pride in the fact that I never gave orders to turn black into white or white into black during case handling."

During his tenure as Seoul Central District Prosecutor General, Lee was evaluated to have lost organizational control after refusing to accept the requests from the investigation team and senior officials at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to dismiss charges against Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon, who was investigated in the 'Channel A Coercion Attempt' case, and delaying approval, which led to a collective backlash.

Although there were many speculations that he would move to the position of head of the Judicial Research and Training Institute after being indicted on charges of exerting external pressure in the investigation of the 'Kim Hak-ui illegal deportation' case and becoming a defendant, he was promoted to Seoul High Prosecutor General, reaffirming the current administration's trust in him once again.

Currently, the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office is reviewing an appeal case related to the suspicion of 'military leave privilege' involving the son of former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae, and is responsible for maintaining the prosecution in the case of Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong Jin-ung of the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, who was indicted on charges of official violence under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes for assaulting Prosecutor Han during a search and seizure operation.