Jungang District Prosecutor's Office 1st Chief Seong Sangheon... Leads Investigation into 'Seongnam FC Sponsorship Fund Suspicion' Lee Changsoo
'Yeouido Grim Reaper' Dan Seonghan & 'Samsung Welstory' Lee Jeongseop... Special Crime Division Forward Deployment
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] A mid-level prosecutor personnel reshuffle at the deputy chief and chief prosecutor level has been carried out. By placing the so-called ‘Yoon Seok-yeol faction’ in positions handling investigations related to allegations of misconduct during the Moon Jae-in administration, full-scale investigations are expected to proceed.
On the 28th, the Ministry of Justice announced that it had implemented new appointments and transfers for 712 prosecutors, including 683 prosecutors at the senior prosecutor level and 29 general prosecutors, effective from the 4th of next month.
Seong Sang-heon, deputy chief prosecutor of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office (30th class), was appointed as the first deputy chief prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, the largest prosecution office nationwide. Jeon Mu-gon, deputy chief prosecutor of the Ansan Branch Office (31st class), was appointed as deputy chief prosecutor of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office, which is investigating the Moon Jae-in administration’s ‘Ministry of Industry blacklist’ allegations. Lee Chang-soo, second deputy chief prosecutor of the Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office (30th class), was appointed as chief prosecutor of the Seongnam Branch Office, which is handling the ‘Seongnam FC sponsorship fund allegations’ investigation.
The heads of the Anti-Corruption Investigation Divisions 1, 2, and 3 at the Central District Prosecutors’ Office were appointed as follows: Eom Hee-jun, deputy chief prosecutor of the Important Economic Crimes Investigation Unit at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office (32nd class), who served as the head of the investigation command division at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office during Yoon Seok-yeol’s tenure as Prosecutor General; Kim Young-chul, chief prosecutor of the 5th Trial Division at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (33rd class), who was part of the special prosecution team investigating the state affairs manipulation scandal and investigated Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong; and Kang Baek-shin, chief prosecutor of the Trial Division at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office (34th class), who investigated former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk’s family. Lee Jung-seop, head of the Criminal Division 2 at the Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office (32nd class), was appointed as head of the Fair Trade Investigation Division, which is leading the Samsung Wellstory investigation.
Lee Hee-dong, professor at the Yongin branch of the Judicial Research and Training Institute (32nd class), was appointed as head of the Public Investigation Division 1 at the Central District Prosecutors’ Office, which is handling the ‘West Sea civil servant shooting incident.’ Lee Sang-hyun, chief of the Criminal Division 3 at the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office (33rd class), was appointed as head of the Public Investigation Division 2 at the Central District Prosecutors’ Office, which is investigating allegations related to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family’s involvement in developing presidential election pledges.
Dan Seong-han, chief of the Criminal Division 1 at the Cheongju District Prosecutors’ Office (32nd class), was appointed as head of the Joint Financial and Securities Crime Investigation Unit at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office, known as the ‘Yeouido Grim Reaper.’ The new head Dan Seong-han previously worked on the investigation of former Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae’s ‘judicial manipulation’ scandal, collaborating closely with Han Dong-hoon, then third deputy chief prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office and now Minister of Justice.
Park Hyun-chul, chief of the Criminal Division 2 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (31st class), was appointed as spokesperson for the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, serving as the ‘mouthpiece’ of the Prosecutor General. Park Hyun-chul previously assisted Lee Won-seok, acting Prosecutor General and deputy chief prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, as policy planning division chief when Lee was head of the Planning and Coordination Department in 2019.
Yoon Byung-jun, deputy chief prosecutor (32nd class) who was seconded to the Fair Trade Commission, was appointed as head of the Investigation Command and Support Division, assisting the head of the Anti-Corruption and Violence Division at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, which oversees special investigations nationwide. Yoon previously served as head of the Investigation Support Division of the Anti-Corruption Department at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office during Yoon Seok-yeol’s tenure as Prosecutor General, effectively taking on the same role once again.
Son Jun-sung, human rights protection officer at the Daegu High Prosecutors’ Office (29th class), who was indicted over allegations of ‘reporter bribery,’ has been transferred to the litigation division chief at the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office.
The Ministry of Justice explained the background of the personnel reshuffle, stating, “This personnel reshuffle is not for the prosecution itself but to establish a system that allows the prosecution to work properly for the benefit of the people, enabling the prosecution to respond quickly and efficiently to the numerous major pending issues.”
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