"Work Without Rest Even for a Moment"… The Prosecutors Have Changed 180 Degrees [Seocho-dong Legal Story]

No Complaints Despite Heavy Workload... Frontline District Prosecutors Say "Please Send Prosecutors We Can Entrust"
"Normalization of Abnormality" Process... Inside the Prosecution: "Even If It's Tough, There's Definitely Something to Learn"

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] Since the first prosecutorial personnel reshuffle under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, the atmosphere within the prosecution has changed 180 degrees. The prosecution, which had been accumulating fatigue due to incomprehensible and unnecessary work orders, is transforming into an environment where proper work is being done. Prosecutors describe this as a ‘normalization process of abnormality.’

From the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, the ‘control tower’ of the prosecution, under the command of Acting Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok (Deputy Prosecutor General), efforts are underway to reform the broken work system. Deputy Prosecutor General Lee is known for his strict standards regarding work performance. Although the Supreme Prosecutors' Office staff and research prosecutors have been working overtime daily and are exhausted from focusing on system improvements, they now feel that normal work is finally being restored.

The specific orders Deputy Prosecutor General Lee gave to senior officials reflect the current mood of the prosecution. He received work reports from senior officials between the 24th and 26th, during which he reportedly urged them to "work without resting even for a moment." In departmental work reports, instructions were so numerous that the scheduled time was often greatly exceeded.

Inside the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, the reaction is, "Only one person has changed..." Although there are many orders, the majority of the staff say they cannot complain because the mistakes are clearly pointed out and improvements are suggested. Until just a month ago, employees who could not voice their dissatisfaction due to unclear work orders and low efficiency now feel that, although it is somewhat tough, there is definitely something to learn, and the atmosphere has shifted accordingly.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office also revived the expanded senior officials meeting, which had been held monthly, after about two years. At the meeting, plans were conveyed to diagnose the current work system and redistribute tasks and personnel. The expanded senior officials meeting had disappeared after former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae appointed pro-government figures as department heads (chief prosecutors) at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to check then-Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol.

Accordingly, the number of orders issued to frontline prosecutors has also increased significantly. Prosecutors newly promoted to chief prosecutors in this reshuffle are eager, requesting "competent prosecutors whom we can trust and entrust work to." One prosecutor said, "The number of orders has increased tremendously," adding, "We hadn’t been working enough until now, and the recent orders all have meaningful content."