[Exclusive] Mid-Level Prosecutors' Appointments Set for August 21...Personnel Committee Convenes Today

About 400 Deputy Chief and Division Chief Prosecutors to Be Reassigned
New Appointments Take Effect on August 27

Appointments for mid-level prosecutors, including deputy chief prosecutors and division chiefs, will take place on August 21. This marks the first reshuffle of mid-level prosecutors since the inauguration of the Lee Jaemyung administration, and a large-scale personnel movement is expected. Given that the government and the ruling party are currently discussing the abolition of the prosecution office, this round of appointments is likely to serve as an indicator of the intensity of future prosecution reforms.

According to legal sources on August 20, the Ministry of Justice will convene the Prosecutors' Personnel Committee at 2:00 p.m. at the Government Complex in Gwacheon to discuss promotion and transfer principles for prosecutors. The results of the appointments will be announced on August 21, and the new positions will take effect on August 27.

The special prosecution team for the internal rebellion case is expected to emphasize the legitimacy of the detention by mainly involving the special prosecutors and prosecutors who participated in the detention warrant review for former President Yoon Seokyeol's detention review. The photo shows the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, where the internal rebellion special prosecution office was set up on July 18, 2025. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

This personnel reshuffle is expected to affect approximately 400 mid-level prosecutors at the deputy chief and division chief levels. The appointments were originally scheduled for early this month but were reportedly postponed as more mid-level prosecutors expressed their intention to resign.

The main point of interest in this reshuffle, as with the recent appointments of senior prosecutors, is whether a large number of special investigation and planning experts who were favored during the Yoon Sukyeol administration will be included.

There is also significant attention on whether prosecutors who investigated cases involving President Lee Jaemyung and his close associates-such as the Daejang-dong scandal and the Ssangbangwool remittance to North Korea-will be sidelined. In particular, there is keen interest in who will be appointed as the first to fourth deputy chief prosecutors at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, the anti-corruption planning director overseeing special investigations nationwide, and the first and second deputy chief prosecutors at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office.

As with the recent appointments of senior prosecutors, it is possible that not all positions will be filled, leaving some posts vacant. Since prosecution reform is underway to separate investigation and indictment functions-dividing the prosecution into investigation and indictment agencies-there is a possibility that positions such as deputy chief and division chief prosecutors, who oversee direct investigations in anti-corruption divisions, may be left vacant.