Prosecutor's Office in Seoul High Court Evacuates After 33 Years

Seoul High Court / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution trial division located in the Seoul Seocho-gu Court Complex will vacate the premises on the 5th.

According to the legal community, starting from this day and continuing for two days, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office will relocate the trial division 2 prosecutor's office, which remained in the court building, to the 12th floor of the main building of the Central District Prosecutors' Office. This marks the end of the 'uncomfortable coexistence' between the prosecution and the court that lasted for 33 years since the court building was constructed in 1989.

The trial division office within the court has existed since the court building was newly constructed. At that time, in exchange for providing part of the land owned by the prosecution, it was agreed to allocate some space to the trial division responsible for trials. The space used by the prosecution in the court building includes the chief prosecutor's office, prosecutor's offices, and record viewing and copying rooms, totaling 413.98㎡ (approximately 125 pyeong). Later, as court duties increased and space within the building became insufficient, conflicts arose. Since 2019, following investigations into the prosecution's judicial manipulation suspicions, the court began sending official letters requesting the prosecution to vacate the premises.

Last year, tensions escalated when the court installed screen doors on one side of the passage leading to the trial division prosecutor's office under the pretext of security and blocked part of the corridor. The conflict was resolved when the prosecution proposed a deadline to the court, stating, "We will relocate the trial division office by the end of August, so please understand."