All Kim Geonhee Special Prosecutor Team Prosecutors Request 'Return'... "Confused About Continuing Special Prosecutor Duties"

Forty Dispatched Prosecutors Submit Statement to Special Prosecutor Team
"Inconsistent Amid Dissolution of Prosecutors' Office"

All prosecutors dispatched to the special prosecutor team led by Min Jungki, which is investigating allegations related to Kim Geonhee, requested on September 30 to return to their original prosecution offices. They cited the recent passage of the amended Government Organization Act, which includes the abolition of the Prosecutors’ Office and the separation of investigative and indictment functions, arguing that continuing their work at the special prosecutor's office is contradictory under these new circumstances.

Min Joong-ki, the special prosecutor in charge of the case related to allegations against Kim Keon-hee, wife of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, is giving a greeting speech at the plaque unveiling ceremony held on July 2, 2025, at the special prosecutor's office set up in the KT Gwanghwamun Building West in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun

According to the legal community, on this day, all 40 prosecutors dispatched to the Kim Geonhee special prosecutor team submitted a statement reflecting this position to Special Prosecutor Min Jungki.

The dispatched prosecutors stated, "Recently, under the pretext of separating investigation and indictment, the Government Organization Act was amended, resulting in the dissolution of the Prosecutors’ Office and the loss of prosecutors’ authority to directly investigate serious crimes. With guidelines now in effect that generally prohibit investigative prosecutors from maintaining indictments, we are in a state of confusion as to whether it is appropriate for dispatched prosecutors to continue handling special prosecutor work that combines direct investigation, indictment, and maintenance of prosecution, which is inconsistent with these changes."

They further requested, "We ask that the special prosecutor officially express, through media briefings and other channels, your views on the role of prosecutors in serious crime investigations as confirmed during the special prosecutor’s investigation, and the necessity of prosecutors’ direct involvement in investigation, indictment, and maintenance of prosecution."

They added, "With a sense of duty, we have devoted ourselves day and night during our dispatch to uncovering the substantive truth and resolving social conflicts in major public cases. We now ask that, after promptly concluding the ongoing cases, measures be taken to allow dispatched prosecutors to return to the front lines and help address the rapidly increasing number of unresolved civil cases."

Previously, on September 26, the amended Government Organization Act, which includes the abolition of the Prosecutors’ Office, was passed in the National Assembly, led by the Democratic Party of Korea and other ruling parties. As a result, after a one-year grace period, the prosecution will be reorganized into the Public Prosecution Office, which will be responsible for indictments, and the Serious Crime Investigation Office, which will be responsible for investigating serious crimes.