[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] It was reported on the 9th that Chief Prosecutor Choi Seok-gyu (29th Judicial Research and Training Institute class), who concurrently served as Head of Investigation Division 3 and Head of the Prosecution Division at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), recently expressed his intention to resign, but his resignation was rejected.
On the same day, the CIO announced that as of the 5th, Chief Prosecutor Choi was relieved from his concurrent duty as Head of Investigation Division 3, and Prosecutor Cha Jeong-hyun (36th class) of Investigation Division 2 was appointed as Acting Head of Investigation Division 3.
The CIO stated, "This personnel change was made in response to Chief Prosecutor Choi’s expression of difficulty in continuing investigation and investigation supervision duties due to accumulated workload from concurrently holding two department head positions since the establishment of the CIO, compounded by personal circumstances."
Chief Prosecutor Choi is a legal professional who passed the Certified Public Accountant exam in 1988 while studying International Economics at Seoul National University and worked for several years at Samil Accounting Corporation.
After passing the 39th Judicial Examination in 1997 and completing the Judicial Research and Training Institute, he began his judicial career in 2000 at the Uijeongbu branch of the Seoul District Court. He subsequently served as a judge at the Seoul District Court, Daegu District Court Gyeongju branch, and Seoul Administrative Court. In 2009, he opened a law practice and worked as a lawyer at Kim & Chang Law Office and Dongin Law Firm.
Appointed as a chief prosecutor at the CIO in 2021, he led investigations in the Investigation Division 3 into allegations such as the 'leak of Lee Seong-yoon’s indictment,' the 'cover-up of Kim Hak-ui’s illegal travel ban investigation,' and the 'bribery allegations involving an Audit Office executive.' In May, he also issued a no-charge decision regarding President Yoon Seok-youl and others related to the 'Optimus case poor investigation' allegations.
Meanwhile, in Investigation Division 3 of the CIO, Prosecutor Moon Hyeong-seok (36th class) resigned in June, followed by Prosecutor Kim Seung-hyun (42nd class) in July. Additionally, Prosecutor Kim Song-gyeong (40th class) from the same division recently took sick leave, leaving only Prosecutors Lee Jong-su and Kim Seong-jin in Investigation Division 3.
Chief Prosecutor Choi had been expressing concerns about the workload due to the successive resignations of affiliated prosecutors and recently expressed his intention to resign. However, it is known that he remained at the CIO, excluded from investigation duties, after being persuaded by CIO Chief Kim Jin-wook and others.
Some speculate that since Chief Prosecutor Choi, a former judge with no practical investigation experience, often made unilateral decisions during investigation supervision, dissatisfaction among affiliated prosecutors and investigators may have accumulated.
On the same day, the CIO also conducted interviews to recruit two additional chief prosecutors and one regular prosecutor. Currently, the CIO has 21 prosecutors, four short of the statutory quota of 25 prosecutors under the CIO Act.
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