[Invest&Law] Close 'Planning Expert' Sim Woo-jung Nominated... Attention on Investigation Direction of T-Mef and Others

Yoon Administration's Second Prosecutor General Nominee
Expected to Differ from 'Specialist' Prosecutor Generals
Focus on Organizational Stabilization within Prosecution
Meticulous Style in Corporate Investigations
Experience Investigating Nexon, Lotte, and Others
Companies Suspected of Benefiting from Park Geun-hye Regime
Also Involved in Deutsche Motors Stock Manipulation Case

Shim Woo-jung, Deputy Minister of Justice (age 53, 26th Judicial Research and Training Institute), has been nominated as the next candidate for Prosecutor General, drawing attention to the direction of ongoing corporate investigations by the prosecution.

Candidate for Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung arrived at the personnel hearing preparation office set up at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 12th and responded to questions from the press. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

According to multiple corporate and legal sources on the 14th, many corporate officials have been closely examining the cases recently handled by candidate Shim and are actively moving. Inside and outside the prosecution, Shim is referred to as a ‘planning expert’ skilled in organizational management, administrative tasks, and policy planning. The prevailing analysis is that his tendencies will differ from the ‘special investigation experts’ who have often served as Prosecutor General.

In contrast to special investigation experts who have led intensive investigations into high-profile cases of national interest, many expect candidate Shim to focus on stabilizing the prosecution’s organization. At the same time, it is anticipated that he will demonstrate a meticulous and thorough style in corporate investigations, as he frequently showed such traits during his time as a frontline prosecutor.

Representative companies targeted by candidate Shim include Nexon and Lotte. Around July 2016, while serving as Chief of the Criminal Division 1 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, Shim handled the case involving former prosecutor Jin Kyung-joon, who was suspected of receiving stocks as a favor from Kim Jung-ju, founder of Nexon and a friend. The investigation revealed that Jin had received stocks preferentially and managed overall company risks. In October of the same year, Shim was assigned to investigate the case where former Lotte Holdings Vice Chairman Shin Dong-joo accused his younger brother, Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, of filing financial statements that omitted approximately 300 billion KRW in losses from Chinese operations. Previously, the Criminal Division 1 led by Shim also investigated the case where Shin Dong-joo and others filed complaints against seven CEOs of Lotte Group affiliates and the president of Japanese Lotte affiliates for obstruction of business.

During the 2017 investigation into the state affairs manipulation scandal, Shim participated in investigations under then Seoul Central District Prosecutor Yoon Seok-youl into companies suspected of benefiting from support to the Mir and K-Sports Foundations during the Park Geun-hye administration. While serving as Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office from 2021 to 2022, Shim led investigations into energy companies related to the ‘Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Blacklist’ case, which was suspected to have been created during the Moon Jae-in administration. Last year, he was also involved in the ‘Deutsche Motors Stock Price Manipulation’ case, which implicated Kim Geon-hee, spouse of President Yoon Seok-youl.

If candidate Shim passes the National Assembly confirmation hearing, he will succeed Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok, who retires on the 15th of next month. There are numerous corporate investigations awaiting his command after inauguration. The first to attract attention is expected to be the investigation into the unsettled payments issue involving TMON and WEMAKEPRICE (TMEP). The dedicated investigation team at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (led by Lee Jun-dong, Head of the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1) is handling this case. Due to the large number of victims, public interest is high.

Other cases include the ‘SM Entertainment Acquisition-Related Market Manipulation’ case (Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office), where founder Kim Beom-su of Kakao was indicted and further crimes are being investigated, and the ‘Coupang Product Search Ranking Manipulation’ case (Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office).

On the 12th, candidate Shim arrived at the office preparing for the confirmation hearing and said, "I believe the right path is for each member of the prosecution to have a sense of mission and do their best to fulfill their roles."