[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Kim Seok-woo, a prosecutor at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office (27th Judicial Research and Training Institute class), has been promoted and appointed as the Legal Affairs Director of the Ministry of Justice. This marks the first time in five and a half years that an internal official has been assigned to this position, which had been held by external personnel during the Moon Jae-in administration's 'deprosecution' policy of the Ministry of Justice.
On the morning of the 27th, the Ministry of Justice carried out personnel appointments involving one new appointment at the level of senior prosecutors (high prosecutors general and chief prosecutors), 50 senior prosecutors, and 446 general prosecutors, totaling 496 prosecutors. The effective date of appointment is July 6.
The personnel changes were minimized in terms of promotions and transfers to maintain organizational stability, considering the simultaneous occurrence of various ongoing investigations.
Kim Seok-woo, the new Legal Affairs Director, led the Constitutional Issue Research Task Force of the Ministry of Justice under the current administration and spearheaded the filing of a constitutional review petition against the 'Complete Deprivation of Prosecution Rights Act' (commonly known as the 'Kunsu Wanbak Law'). The Legal Affairs Director is considered a key position within the Ministry of Justice alongside the Director of the Prosecution Bureau. Responsibilities include drafting and reviewing legislation, advising the President, Prime Minister, and various ministries on legal matters, and interpreting various laws. The role also involves directing and supervising lawsuits involving the state as a party, as well as the selection and training of legal professionals.
During the previous Moon Jae-in administration, external figures such as lawyer Lee Yong-gu were appointed in line with the deprosecution policy.
Meanwhile, in this personnel reshuffle, Yu Do-yoon, head of the Human Rights Protection Division at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, was transferred to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office and dispatched to the National Intelligence Service, which also drew attention. On the other hand, four senior prosecutor general-level positions, including Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, Chief Prosecutors of Seoul and Daejeon High Prosecutors' Offices, and Director of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, remain vacant. Prosecutor general-level vacancies such as Deputy Director of the Judicial Research and Training Institute and Planning Director of the Legal Training Institute were also not filled.
Regarding this personnel reshuffle, the Ministry of Justice explained, "Considering that about seven months have passed since the personnel changes in the second half of last year, the scale of appointments for prosecutors at the senior prosecutor level and above was minimized to ensure organizational stability and enable efficient performance of core duties."
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