[Law & Story]Prosecutors and Defendants Running in the General Election

Lee Seong-yoon, Shin Seong-sik, and Park Eun-jung Run After Dismissal
Restrictions Needed on Incumbent Prosecutors Running Directly for General Elections
General Election Candidacy Should Not Be a Means of Restoring Honor

Choi Seok-jin, legal affairs reporter.

This general election stands out for having more candidates with a background as prosecutors than ever before.

There have been candidates for the National Assembly who were former prosecutors before, but most were former high-ranking prosecutors such as high prosecutors or chief prosecutors. Rather than entering politics immediately after leaving the prosecution, they often practiced law for some time before running. Above all, the prosecutors who ran were those recognized within the organization for their competence and character.

However, this general election presents a somewhat different situation.

First, there have been cases where incumbent chief prosecutors have expressed their intention to enter politics, and several prosecutors have announced their candidacy for the general election even though their resignation letters have not yet been accepted.

Everyone has the right to run for public office and be elected, and there is a Supreme Court ruling regarding Representative Hwang Unha, who ran for the general election and was elected while still an active police officer without his resignation being accepted. However, it is an undeniable fact that an incumbent prosecutor running directly for the general election raises strong suspicions about the political neutrality of the prosecution.

Another characteristic is that among the opposition party’s candidates with a prosecutorial background, many have shown specific political leanings during their tenure as prosecutors or are defendants currently on trial for crimes committed while in office.

These include Lee Seong-yoon, former Seoul High Prosecutor’s Office chief, who was called the “prosecutorial crown prince” under the Moon Jae-in administration and held key positions within the prosecution but clashed multiple times with his subordinates due to investigation directives that deviated from neutrality; Shin Seong-sik, former Suwon District Prosecutor’s Office chief, who is accused of providing false information to the media related to the “Channel A incident”; and Lee Gyu-won, deputy chief prosecutor at Daegu District Prosecutor’s Office, who is on trial for the illegal deportation case involving Kim Hak-eui.

Park Eun-jung, former Seongnam branch chief prosecutor, who was involved in the investigation of the “Seongnam FC illegal sponsorship” case linked to Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, and caused then Deputy Chief Prosecutor Park Ha-young to resign, received the first proportional representation spot from the Justice Innovation Party.

He was dismissed by the Ministry of Justice for illegally removing and delivering inspection materials related to Han Dong-hoon, emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, during former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae’s attempt to conduct a “targeted inspection” against then Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl in 2020. The former high prosecutor and former chief prosecutor mentioned earlier were also dismissed for different reasons.

Article 5 of the Attorney-at-Law Act (Disqualification of Attorneys) stipulates that those dismissed by disciplinary action cannot become attorneys for three years, meaning these individuals who cannot even become lawyers are now entrusted with public office as members of the National Assembly.

Additionally, Park Gyun-taek, former Gwangju High Prosecutor’s Office chief and legal special advisor to the Democratic Party leader who defended him, Yang Bu-nam, former Busan High Prosecutor’s Office chief and legal committee chairman of the Democratic Party who has overseen judicial risks related to the leader, Lee Geon-tae, former Goyang branch chief prosecutor and former lawyer for Lee’s close aides Jeong Jin-sang and Kim Yong, who are on trial for corruption related to Daejang-dong, and Kim Ki-pyo, former Seoul Central District Prosecutor, all received nominations. These individuals assisted the leader or his close aides during investigations or trials.

Among them, former High Prosecutor Yang was the head of the Gangwon Land recruitment corruption investigation team in 2018 and issued a press release claiming that then Prosecutor General Moon Moo-il had improperly exercised investigative authority. It was very unusual and seemed highly political for an incumbent chief prosecutor to openly defy the prosecutor general using the media, which I remember finding puzzling. The People Power Party lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong, who clashed with Prosecutor General Moon and was prosecuted, was acquitted in all three trials from the first to the third instance.

Among the People Power Party candidates are Lee Won-mo, former personnel secretary at the Presidential Office; Joo Jin-woo, former legal secretary at the Presidential Office; and Kim Jin-mo, former Southern District Prosecutor’s Office chief, who was convicted of embezzlement of special activity funds from the National Intelligence Service but was pardoned and ran for office.

Prosecutors handling cases while wearing invisible blue or red clothes, then immediately resigning and joining a specific party to run in the general election, is a practice that should be restricted through legislation. Furthermore, the behavior of using candidacy or election to the National Assembly as a means to obtain immunity from crimes or restore honor must also disappear.