Candidate for Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung Has a Prior Fine for Drunk Driving Before Appointment as Prosecutor

It has been confirmed that nominee for Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung was caught for drunk driving and fined before being commissioned as a prosecutor.

Candidate for Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung is arriving at the Personnel Hearing Preparation Office set up at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 12th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

On the 21st, the preparation team for the Prosecutor General nominee's confirmation hearing stated, "About 30 years ago, before being commissioned as a prosecutor, he was caught for drunk driving and later received a general pardon." They added, "Although he received a general pardon and the incident occurred before his appointment as a prosecutor, he feels deeply remorseful."

According to the confirmation hearing materials previously submitted to the National Assembly, nominee Shim was caught for drunk driving in May 1995 at the Seocho Police Station in Seoul while he was a judicial trainee. He was fined 700,000 won by a summary order confirmed by the Seoul Central District Court in the same year.

At the end of the same year, nominee Shim was pardoned for violating the Road Traffic Act when President Kim Young-sam issued a 'general pardon order,' and he was commissioned as a prosecutor in 2000. At that time, the Kim Young-sam administration, with the consent of the National Assembly, issued a 'general pardon order' on August 10, 1995, which nullified the effect of sentences for 35 offenses, including violations of the Road Traffic Act committed before that date.

The confirmation hearing preparation team stated, "Since the incident, he has made efforts to conduct himself properly and will continue to be more cautious in his conduct as a public official."