Daegum Withdraws Policy on Submission of Statements for 'Prosecutor Participation in Trials'

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] The Supreme Prosecutors' Office has withdrawn the 'direct trial permission system,' which had sparked backlash from frontline prosecutors by requiring investigative prosecutors to submit a statement of reasons when directly participating in trials. This move appears to be a response to the public opposition from investigative prosecutors who claimed it was tantamount to "giving up on punishing power crimes."

According to the legal community on the 9th, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office decided at an executive meeting held on the 6th to revoke the previous policy that required submitting a statement of reasons for direct trial participation.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office is also considering measures to support offices and personnel for prosecutors coming from provincial areas to trials held in Seoul. It is reported that senior officials of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office personally called prosecutors who opposed the direct trial restriction policy to explain the situation. This decision was also disclosed on the internal communication network of the prosecution.

Previously, Kang Baeksin, chief prosecutor of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office who investigated the family case of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, Song Kyungho, a prosecutor at the Suwon High Prosecutors' Office who led the case, and Lee Bokhyun, chief prosecutor of the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office who investigated the Samsung illegal succession case, posted criticisms of the 'direct trial permission system' on the prosecution's internal network. In response, Prosecutor General Kim Osu explained during a visit to the Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office and District Prosecutors' Office on the 29th of last month that "there were cases where direct trial participation placed a burden on the frontline, so we are considering reasonable measures."