Prosecutors' Office 'Special Line' Expected to Be Fully Replaced... Eom Hee-jun, Kim Young-chul, Kang Baek-shin Mentioned
Prosecutors Reviewing Re-request for Baek Woon-gyu's Arrest Warrant... Multiple Officials Expected to Be Summoned After Mid-level Personnel Changes
[Asia Economy Reporters Kyungjun Heo, Sehee Jang] A mid-level prosecutor personnel reshuffle at the level of deputy chief prosecutors and chief prosecutors is set to take place this week. Attention is focused on who will take charge of investigations into allegations of corruption during the Moon Jae-in administration, including the Daejang-dong development corruption scandal and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy blacklist investigation.
According to the legal community on the 27th, the Ministry of Justice plans to carry out a mid-level personnel reshuffle on the 28th, assigning new posts effective early July. It is expected that many deputy chief prosecutors and chief prosecutors will be replaced in this reshuffle. The Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office held consultations last week regarding mid-level personnel reshuffles following the recent appointments of senior prosecutors at the level of chief prosecutors and above.
The special investigation team at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office handling the Daejang-dong case is expected to be completely replaced. Jeong Yong-hwan, head of the Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Division 1 (Judicial Research and Training Institute class 32), who oversaw the Daejang-dong investigation, and Yoo Jin-seung, head of the Economic Crime Division (class 33), the main prosecutor in the Daejang-dong case, are likely to be replaced. Although the Daejang-dong investigation team was formed as a 'mammoth-sized' team of 25 members with full support from former Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye, the investigation results have been criticized as falling short of expectations.
Currently, the Daejang-dong investigation team is focusing almost exclusively on maintaining the prosecution. There is a possibility that the entire investigation team will be reorganized except for essential personnel participating in the trial, as deputy chief prosecutors are replaced. Following the 'one-point personnel reshuffle' last month, Song Kyung-ho was replaced as head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (class 29), and the 4th deputy chief prosecutor leading the Daejang-dong investigation was changed to Ko Hyung-gon (class 31), reportedly prompting the Ministry of Justice to request new personnel supply.
Among the special investigation line at the Central District Prosecutors' Office, names mentioned include Um Hee-jun, deputy chief prosecutor of the Important Economic Crime Investigation Unit at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office (class 32), who served as head of the investigation command division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office during President Yoon Seok-youl's tenure as Prosecutor General; Kim Young-chul, chief prosecutor of the 5th trial division at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (class 33), who investigated the special prosecutor team for the state affairs manipulation scandal and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong; and Kang Baek-shin, chief prosecutor of the trial division at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office (class 34), who investigated former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk's family. Deputy Chief Prosecutors Um and Kang have been dispatched to the Central District Prosecutors' Office since last month, leading prosecution maintenance for the Samsung merger allegations and former Minister Cho's family, respectively, in the 5th trial division.
The investigation line at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, which is investigating the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy blacklist allegations, is also highly likely to be replaced. Following the recent dismissal of the arrest warrant for former Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Baek Woon-gyu, there are internal criticisms within the prosecution that Choi Hyung-won, head of the Criminal Division 6 (class 34), currently in charge of the investigation, may have overstepped.
With Im Gwan-hyeok, the newly appointed head of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office (class 26), taking office today, it is expected that the command line, including deputy chief prosecutors, will be established before accelerating the investigation. The investigation team appears to be focusing on reapplying for the arrest warrant for former Minister Baek. A prosecution official stated, "We are reviewing which specific charges may be disputable," and added, "We are actively considering whether to reapply for the warrant."
Considering the reason for the warrant dismissal that "some charges may be disputable," the prosecution believes that a significant portion of the charges have been acknowledged. The prosecution had specified in the arrest warrant for former Minister Baek allegations that he pressured heads of 13 affiliated institutions to resign and improperly supported a specific individual to become a successor at one institution. Recently, it is known that personnel officers who observed the timing of the replacement and hiring of affiliated institution heads were consecutively summoned for questioning.
After reapplying for the arrest warrant for former Minister Baek, the prosecution is expected to expand the investigation to higher levels of the Blue House. A current lawmaker who worked at the previous administration's Blue House denied the investigation, stating, "This matter is unrelated to the Presidential Secretariat," but it is reported that the prosecution requested Democratic Party lawmaker Park Sang-hyuk to appear as a witness for questioning.
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