Attorney Lee Jae-seung, appointed as the Deputy Chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials. Photo by Law Firm Jipyung website capture
Attorney Lee Jae-seung (50, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 30), a former chief prosecutor, has been nominated as the Deputy Chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO). Former JTBC Social Affairs Department Head Kim Baek-gi has been nominated as the next spokesperson.
According to the legal community on the 9th, CIO Chief Oh Dong-woon is expected to recommend Attorney Lee as the next Deputy Chief as early as the 10th. The Deputy Chief of the CIO is appointed by the President upon the Chief’s recommendation.
Attorney Lee, a graduate of Soongsil High School in Seoul and Seoul National University Law School, passed the 40th Judicial Examination in 1998 and completed the 30th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute.
After serving as a legal officer in the Air Force, he was commissioned as a prosecutor at the Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office in 2004 and worked as a prosecutor at the Chuncheon District Prosecutors’ Office Gangneung Branch, Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, and Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office Anyang Branch.
From 2012 to 2014, he was dispatched as a legal advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade. After returning to the prosecution, he served as deputy chief prosecutor at the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office, chief prosecutor at the Seosan Branch of the Daejeon District Prosecutors’ Office, head of the Cyber Investigation Division at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, chief prosecutor of the Criminal Division 3 at the Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office, and finally chief prosecutor of the Criminal Division 3 at the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office before opening his law practice in 2020.
While serving as a prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office in 2011, he co-authored a study on practical cases of defamation. In 2014, he obtained the Level 2 (Blue Belt) certified specialist prosecutor qualification in defamation from the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. From 2018 to 2019, during his tenure as chief prosecutor of the Criminal Division 3 at the Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office, he led a dedicated unit for gambling and violent crimes.
In August 2020, when he was assigned as a prosecutor at the Suwon High Prosecutors’ Office in a subsequent personnel reshuffle, he resigned and has since worked as a criminal defense attorney at the law firm Jipyung.
Since his inauguration on May 22, Chief Oh has expressed his intention to appoint a Deputy Chief with outstanding investigative skills, considering criticisms that, as a former judge, he lacks sufficient investigative experience.
Meanwhile, Kim Baek-gi, former JTBC Social Affairs Department Head, has been nominated as the successor to Hwang Sang-jin, the inaugural spokesperson who retired upon the expiration of his term the previous day. Kim previously worked for the legal team at Munhwa Ilbo, covering the prosecution for many years and serving as a district chief prosecutor, before moving to JTBC where he served as Social Affairs Department Head.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
