Among the members of the 14th to 22nd National Assembly, which was launched in May 1992, how many were former legal professionals and former judges or prosecutors?
According to a comprehensive survey conducted by Law Times, there were 208 members with a legal background. Among them, more than half, 122 members (59%), were former judges and prosecutors. Of these, 80 were former prosecutors and 42 were former judges.
In the legal field, during the season when public officials resign, there are many criticisms regarding sitting judges and prosecutors resigning and immediately running for general elections, from the perspective of fairness in trials and investigations. While this may indicate an expansion of the legal profession's influence, if they enter politics without a certain interval, it inevitably raises doubts about whether they conducted investigations or trials with impartial standards, affecting judicial trust.
In fact, among the former judges and prosecutors who became members of the National Assembly, 20% (25 members) ran for election within one year of retiring from public office during the 14th to 22nd National Assembly terms. Prosecutors accounted for the majority with 19 members, including 6 who held the rank of chief prosecutor or higher. There were 6 judges, none of whom had served as senior judges at high courts or above. Representative figures include former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae and Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo. In the 21st National Assembly, there were former prosecutor Kim Woong of the People Power Party and former judge Lee Soo-jin of the Democratic Party. The 22nd National Assembly has only one, former Seoul High Prosecutor General Lee Sung-yoon.
How many former senior prosecutors and chief prosecutors, often called the elite of the courts and prosecution, have entered the National Assembly? Based on the 14th to 22nd terms, there were a total of 23 members who were former chief prosecutors or higher, and 3 members who had served as senior judges or higher. Among them, six ran for election within one year of retiring from public office: former Prosecutor General Kim Do-eon, former Seoul High Prosecutor General Lee Sung-yoon, former Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee Won-sung, former Changwon District Prosecutor Chief Lee Han-sung, former Ministry of Justice Prosecution Bureau Director Jang Yoon-seok, and former Jeonju District Prosecutor Chief Choi Byung-guk.
Among the prosecutor-origin members of the National Assembly, many were multi-term legislators with three or more terms. Former Blue House Chief of Staff Kim Ki-chun, who consecutively served as Prosecutor General and Minister of Justice, entered Yeouido by winning the 15th National Assembly election in 1996 and was re-elected in the 16th and 17th elections, serving as a three-term member.
Former member Kang Jae-seop, who served as floor leader of the Grand National Party and was a former Seoul High Prosecutor, was a five-term member elected from the 13th to 17th National Assembly elections. Song Ki-heon, a prosecutor-origin member of the Democratic Party who served as the secretary of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, is currently serving as a three-term member in the 22nd National Assembly.
Park Soo-yeon, Hong Yoon-ji, Ahn Jae-myung, Kim Ji-hyun, Ahn Hyun, Lee Jin-young, Law Times reporters
※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.
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