‘Yoon Sukyeol Faction’ Exodus Ahead of Presidential Election

Changsoo Lee and Sangwon Cho Resign
Separation of Investigation and Prosecution Expected to Lead to Mass Prosecutor Resignations

Changsoo Lee, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, and Sangwon Cho, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the 4th Division of the Central District Prosecutors' Office, are attending the first impeachment trial hearing held at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul on February 17, 2025. Photo by Dongju Yoon

Changsoo Lee, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, and Sangwon Cho, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the 4th Division, who were impeached after dismissing the stock manipulation allegations against First Lady Kim Keonhee, submitted their resignations on May 20, 2025. In addition, Dongwan Ahn, a prosecutor at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office who was impeached for alleged abuse of prosecutorial power, also tendered his resignation. As the presidential election approaches, a series of resignations are following among prosecutors who returned to duty after impeachment.

Chief Prosecutor Lee and Deputy Chief Prosecutor Cho submitted their resignations about two months after returning to work, following the Constitutional Court's dismissal of their impeachment. An official from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office stated, "After the impeachment, Chief Prosecutor Lee suffered significant mental and physical distress and is currently in poor health, but he returned to oversee key issues at the Central District Prosecutors' Office before expressing his intention to resign." Deputy Chief Prosecutor Cho told reporters on his way home, "The impeachment trial revealed my innocence with a unanimous 8-0 decision by the justices. I decided to resign because I believe I have now stabilized the investigations that were delayed during my suspension from duty."

The National Assembly impeached Chief Prosecutor Lee, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Cho, and others last year, but on March 13, 2025, the Constitutional Court unanimously dismissed the impeachment.

Chief Prosecutor Lee is known as a member of the so-called "Yoon Sukyeol faction" due to his close working relationship with former President Yoon Sukyeol, having served as spokesperson for the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in 2020 when Yoon was Prosecutor General. While serving as head of the Seongnam Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, he indicted Lee Jaemyung, leader of the Democratic Party, in the Seongnam FC sponsorship case. As head of the Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office, he led the investigation into the employment case involving former President Moon Jaein's son-in-law. Deputy Chief Prosecutor Cho was dispatched to the special investigation team for the Park Geunhye administration's government corruption scandal in 2016, when former President Yoon led the team. As Deputy Chief Prosecutor at the Seongnam Branch, he investigated the illegal sponsorship allegations involving Lee Jaemyung and Seongnam FC.

Within and outside the prosecution, there are predictions that if Lee Jaemyung, the Democratic Party candidate, is elected president, the wave of resignations among prosecutors will increase. Lee's camp has pledged to significantly reduce prosecutorial powers, limiting their role to indictments only. A division chief at a district prosecutors' office in the Seoul metropolitan area said, "If a special prosecutor is launched, about 100 prosecutors will need to be dispatched immediately, and among them, there will be quite a few who resign."