Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok: "I will guide to reach a proper conclusion on summoning First Lady Kim Geon-hee"

"No exceptions, privileges, or sanctuaries before the law"
"Will guide to uphold such principles and standards"

Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok stated regarding the summons investigation of First Lady Kim Geon-hee, "I believe the investigation team will reach the right conclusion, and I will guide them accordingly."

On his way home in the afternoon, Lee met with reporters and responded to the question, "There is now a call to summon First Lady Kim Geon-hee. Could you please share your thoughts on this?" with the above statement.

Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok. Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@

Lee said, "Today, the first deputy chief and several other deputy chiefs of the Central District Prosecutors' Office have newly assumed their positions, and a chief prosecutor was also recently appointed. The investigation team has been reorganized and is prepared, so I believe the team will thoroughly review the investigation status and the necessity of the inquiry and reach the right conclusion. I will guide them accordingly."

He continued, "Not only in this case but in all cases, I always emphasize to prosecutors that 'there are no exceptions, privileges, or sacred areas before our law. We must uphold these principles and standards,' and I will continue to guide them in this manner."

When asked about his stance on the special prosecutor bill for First Lady Kim Geon-hee proposed by the Democratic Party, he said, "Since we are currently investigating, we believe we must properly conduct the investigation based on evidence and legal principles. Regarding the special prosecutor bill, as it concerns an ongoing investigation, I can only say that we will do our best," and refrained from further comment.

Meanwhile, Lee emphasized the sense of duty as a prosecutor during a ceremony receiving 177 prosecutors of the senior prosecutor level transferring to the metropolitan area that afternoon.

Lee said, "The word '직(職)' in the profession of a prosecutor means 'position,' and '업(業)' means 'work.' Depending on which syllable you emphasize, it leads to a significant difference. If you earn the 'position' through 'work,' it is something worthy of applause and congratulations from everyone. However, if you emphasize the 'position' and seek to obtain it out of greed, performing the 'work' with selfishness intervening, it will ruin yourself, the prosecution, and the nation."

He also cited a biblical verse related to the prosecutor's role: "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men."

Lee emphasized, "Just as salt becomes nothing more than a worthless mineral the moment it loses its 'saltiness,' if the prosecution fails to properly fulfill its role as the 'salt' essential to preventing corruption in the community and to the human body, it will ultimately be discarded as useless."

Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok is speaking at the event for the transfer of high-ranking prosecutors to the metropolitan area held at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-dong, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 3rd. Photo by Supreme Prosecutors' Office

At the end of his remarks, Lee recited a poem by Russian poet Alexander Pushkin titled "Even if life deceives you."

The poem reads, "Even if life deceives you, do not be sad or angry. If you endure and bear the days of sorrow, soon the days of joy will come. The heart is in the future; the present is always sad. Everything passes in an instant, and what has passed becomes dear."