[Seocho-dong Legal Talk] No Young-min and Park Ji-won Summoned... Song Kyung-ho, Head of the Central District Prosecutors' Office, Emerges as Next Prosecutor General Candidate

Song Kyung-ho, the newly appointed Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, is delivering his inaugural address at the inauguration ceremony held at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] "It is time for us to fulfill our mission so that the powerful cannot reign above the law and hide."

This was the first statement made by Song Kyung-ho, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, upon his inauguration last May. It expressed his determination to severely punish organized corruption cases. He is being recognized for demonstrating this resolve in practice. Since his appointment, the investigative teams reorganized under the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office have been producing consecutive intermediate results in high-profile cases that have drawn national attention. Naturally, the legal community's focus is turning toward Chief Prosecutor Song. The number of people calling him a leading candidate for the next Prosecutor General is gradually increasing, attracting attention.

According to the legal community on the 13th, as the Central District Prosecutors' Office has brought key figures to trial and swiftly uncovered the facts in cases such as the Daejang-dong and Wirye Urban Development preferential treatment and corruption, and the West Sea government official shooting incident, interest in Chief Prosecutor Song, who is leading the investigative teams, has significantly grown. The closer the investigation gets to the highest levels, the more intense the attention toward him is expected to become. The West Sea shooting incident led to former Blue House National Security Office Director Suh Hoon being sent to trial, and on this day, former Blue House Chief of Staff Noh Young-min was summoned, with former National Intelligence Service Director Park Jie-won scheduled for questioning on the 14th. Regarding the Daejang-dong and Wirye cases, an investigation into Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea and identified as the final decision-maker, is being considered. By pressuring current or former power figures, this has led to a brilliant resurgence of the prosecution, which had been cornered by investigations into prosecutorial authority adjustments and the so-called "complete removal of prosecutorial investigation rights" (검수완박) legislation.

For these reasons, it is reported that Chief Prosecutor Song enjoys high support both inside and outside the prosecution. His firm and confident responses to lawmakers questioning the investigations during the October National Assembly audit also contributed. During the audit, Song did not avoid answering and firmly stated, "The West Sea shooting incident was a case that the state agency concluded as a defection to the North," representing the investigative team, and regarding Lee Jae-myung, who was indicted on charges of violating election laws, he emphasized, "The charges have been sufficiently proven." When referred to as part of President Yoon Suk-yeol's "faction" or as pro-government prosecutors, he expressed his opinion that "classifying prosecutors into specific factions is inappropriate."

It is clear that Chief Prosecutor Song's prestige will rise further depending on the outcomes of the Central District Prosecutors' Office investigations going forward. However, there are variables, and some harbor skeptical views. Attention is also focused on how the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case, which involves allegations linked to President Yoon's spouse Kim Gun-hee, will be handled. While there are voices criticizing the investigation as sluggish compared to other cases, the prosecution arrested and is investigating a person believed to have participated in the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation process last month and compiled the so-called "Kim Gun-hee file." Whether this investigation will also produce remarkable results depends on Chief Prosecutor Song.