Sim Woo-jung, Deputy Minister of Justice (26th class), Lim Kwan-hyuk, Chief Prosecutor of Seoul High Prosecutors' Office (26th class), Shin Ja-yong, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office (28th class), and Lee Jin-dong, Chief Prosecutor of Daegu High Prosecutors' Office (28th class) have been recommended as candidates for the next Prosecutor General, succeeding Lee Won-seok (27th class), whose term expires on the 15th of next month.
The Prosecutor General Candidate Recommendation Committee (Recommendation Committee) held a meeting at 2 p.m. on the 7th at the Ministry of Justice building in Gwacheon, conducted a review of the candidates, and then recommended four candidates, including Deputy Minister Shim, to Minister of Justice Park Sung-jae.
From the left, Shim Woo-jung, Deputy Minister of Justice; Lim Gwan-hyeok, Chief Prosecutor of Seoul High Prosecutors' Office; Shin Ja-yong, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office; Lee Jin-dong, Chief Prosecutor of Daegu High Prosecutors' Office. Photo by Beopryul Sinmun
Minister Park will propose one of them to President Yoon Seok-youl, and the law stipulates that the recommendation of the Recommendation Committee must be respected at this time.
After the meeting of the Recommendation Committee ended that day, the Ministry of Justice stated, "The Recommendation Committee conducted an in-depth review of the candidates' careers, achievements and abilities during public service, character, leadership, and commitment to political neutrality and independence, and selected four candidates for Prosecutor General who can lead the prosecution organization stably and realize the prosecution image desired by the public, and recommended them to the Minister of Justice."
It added, "The Minister of Justice plans to respect the Recommendation Committee's recommendations and propose the appointment of the Prosecutor General candidate."
The next Prosecutor General will be decided according to Yoon's heart (尹心), and all four candidates recommended that day have connections with President Yoon. They are also commonly evaluated as suitable candidates for Prosecutor General in terms of work ability, character, and leadership within the organization.
The most likely candidate is Deputy Minister Shim. Born in Gongju, Chungnam, Deputy Minister Shim is the son of Shim Dae-pyeong, former governor of Chungnam and leader of the Liberty Forward Party, and is regarded as having "no enemies inside or outside the prosecution." During the Park Geun-hye administration, he held key positions such as Director of the Criminal Planning Division of the Ministry of Justice, Director of the Prosecution Division of the Ministry of Justice, and Chief of the Criminal Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. During the Moon Jae-in administration, he was promoted to Chief Prosecutor, held key positions such as Director of Planning and Coordination Office of the Ministry of Justice and Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, and after the regime change, he was promoted to High Prosecutor, appointed Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and Deputy Minister of Justice. A former prosecutor described him as "a very outstanding person with a mild personality who does not show off."
He is a representative 'planner' within the prosecution, and the only handicap cited is his lack of experience in politically sensitive large-scale gate cases or special investigations of large corporations. However, it is also analyzed that this could be an advantage, as after President Yoon's inauguration, personnel from the 'special investigation' prosecutors were appointed heads of various national institutions including the Financial Supervisory Service and faced criticism. In particular, President Yoon's trust in Deputy Minister Shim is evident from appointing him as Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, one class senior to Lee Won-seok, to assist the Prosecutor General, and appointing him as Deputy Minister of Justice and acting Minister after the resignation of former Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon during a difficult period of appointing a successor.
Unlike Deputy Minister Shim, Chief Prosecutor Lim and Deputy Chief Prosecutor Shin are typical 'special investigation' prosecutors from the Special Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (currently Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1). Accordingly, compared to Deputy Minister Shim, who overlapped with President Yoon for a few months while serving as Chief of the Criminal Division 1 when Yoon was Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, they have a much broader professional connection with President Yoon.
Chief Prosecutor Lim, who investigated former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook's violation of the Political Funds Act as a junior prosecutor, was considered an ace and 'front-runner' among his peers, serving as Chief of Special Investigation Division 2 and Special Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office during the Park Geun-hye administration, but was demoted to Deputy Chief Prosecutor of Suncheon Branch of Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office during the Moon Jae-in administration. Later, he served in minor posts such as Chief of Cheonan Branch and Chief of Ansan Branch, but was appointed head of the Sewol Ferry Disaster Special Investigation Unit in 2019 by then Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl. However, Chief Prosecutor Lim was never promoted to Chief Prosecutor afterward and had to move to positions at Seoul High Prosecutors' Office and Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office. President Yoon appointed him as Chief Prosecutor of Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, considered the most senior among the financial prosecutors, in the prosecution personnel reshuffle immediately after his inauguration.
It is known that President Yoon was very regretful that Chief Prosecutor Lim, who has excellent investigative skills, was not promoted to Chief Prosecutor in a timely manner. During Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae's tenure, President Yoon strongly recommended Chief Prosecutor Lim's promotion to Chief Prosecutor to Minister Choo. However, as is known, Minister Choo thoroughly rejected the Prosecutor General's opinions on personnel matters, and prosecutors recommended by President Yoon for Chief Prosecutor or Chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office were reportedly disadvantaged in personnel decisions.
Chief Prosecutor Lim is known as a principled person with a very upright character. Among prosecutors, there is a story that he clashed with Kim Man-bae, major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, at a dinner. At that time, during a gathering with reporters and prosecution executives, a senior prosecutor told Chief Prosecutor Lim to greet Kim, who was the head of the Money Today legal team, but Lim angrily responded, "Why should I go greet first?" Eventually, he reluctantly greeted Kim, but had a big argument with Kim, who showed disrespect to his superior by relying on his age, and at the end, Kim expressed strong displeasure by saying something to the effect of "I will watch how well you do from now on. I may not be able to promote you, but I can make sure you don't get promoted."
Ahead of Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok's term expiration, the Prosecutor General Candidate Recommendation Committee held a meeting on the afternoon of the 7th at the Ministry of Justice in the Government Complex Gwacheon to recommend the second Prosecutor General candidate for the Yoon Seok-yeol administration. Chairman Jeong Sang-myeong and the committee members are seated, preparing for the meeting. Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@
Deputy Chief Prosecutor Shin held key positions such as Chief of Special Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Director of the Prosecution Division of the Ministry of Justice, and First Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office during the Moon Jae-in administration. After the 'Cho Kuk incident,' which led President Yoon to confront the Moon Jae-in administration, he was briefly demoted to Chief of Litigation Department at Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, but was reinstated as Director of the Prosecution Bureau of the Ministry of Justice and Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office after the regime change. In 2016, as Chief of the Criminal Division 4 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, he was dispatched to the Special Prosecutor Team for the National Intelligence Service scandal, where he worked closely with President Yoon and Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party.
Deputy Chief Prosecutor Shin is evaluated as a prosecutor with excellent investigative skills and the ability to modulate pace. Unlike typical 'special investigation' prosecutors, he is known for not overextending himself to achieve results. He served as Chief of Special Investigation Division 1 under Han Dong-hoon, then Third Deputy Chief Prosecutor, when President Yoon was Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, investigating several major cases. Since Han entered politics and a subtle confrontation arose between him and President Yoon, being classified as part of Han's faction is expected to be a disadvantage in the Prosecutor General appointment, where the President's intentions play a decisive role. However, as he is two classes junior to Deputy Minister Shim and Chief Prosecutor Lim, there is a possibility that even if he is not appointed Prosecutor General this time, he may be selected next time.
Chief Prosecutor Lee has experience working in the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Central Investigation Department during his time as a junior prosecutor and deputy chief prosecutor. He served as Chief of Financial Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office and Chief of Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. When President Yoon was appointed Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in May 2017, three months later he appointed Chief Prosecutor Lee, then Chief of Investigation Division 1, as Chief of the Criminal Division 3, which handles gambling and violent crimes. After President Yoon's inauguration, he promoted Chief Prosecutor Lee, who was serving as Chief of Inspection Department at Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, considered a minor post, to Chief Prosecutor and appointed him Chief Prosecutor of Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office. Graduated from Yonsei University with a degree in Biochemistry, Chief Prosecutor Lee is known as a calm and serious prosecutor.
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