[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Park Beom-gye, Minister of Justice, has indicated his intention to appoint an outsider to a prosecutor general (chief prosecutor) position at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. As part of personnel appointments to select experts on major disasters, Minister Park has emphasized the importance of resources with expertise related to major disasters.
On the 17th, Minister Park told reporters on his way to the Government Complex Gwacheon, "Appointments at the prosecutor general level will be made for only one position, and from today, the recruitment process for new appointments will begin."
At a press briefing at the end of last month, Minister Park said he would fill the currently vacant deputy chief prosecutor positions at the Gwangju and Daejeon High Prosecutors' Offices. This means he intends to appoint an outsider with expertise in major disaster cases, but he did not specify which position the externally recruited personnel would be assigned to. Some analysts suggest that considering the accidents that occurred in Gwangju, the deputy chief prosecutor position at the Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office seems likely.
On the same day, Minister Park also stated, "Following the collapse of the Hakdong building in Gwangju, an absurd incident occurred where the exterior wall of a newly constructed apartment building collapsed." He added, "We have concluded that it is necessary to appoint an external expert with high insight into industrial accidents and labor rights." He further explained, "When an incident occurs, a head is needed who can comprehensively oversee the initial investigation response, identification of sentencing factors, and research and review of legal arguments to persuade the court." He added, "The appointment will be finalized within January or February."
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice will hold a Prosecutor Personnel Committee meeting on the 21st at the Government Complex Gwacheon to discuss the standards and targets for prosecutor appointments. The committee is known to be a venue for discussing appointments of ordinary prosecutors, not prosecutor generals.
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