Investigation Team Protests "Unjust Orders from Superiors"
Internal Turmoil Seen as Unavoidable
Jinwoo Jung, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, tendered his resignation on November 8.
This comes just one day after the prosecution decided not to appeal the sentences of five defendants, including private developer Kim Manbae, who were convicted on November 7 for corruption related to the Daejang-dong development project.
Jinwoo Jung, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, is responding to questions from lawmakers at the plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 23rd of last month. Photo by Yonhap News
The prosecution leadership, including the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, had initially planned to file an appeal. However, after the Ministry of Justice expressed the opinion that an appeal was unnecessary, a final decision was made not to proceed with the appeal following internal discussions.
In response, the investigation team protested, claiming they were unable to file an appeal due to what they considered an unjust order from higher authorities. They argued that after all internal approval procedures had been completed, the leadership of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office abruptly instructed the investigation and trial teams to withhold the appeal submission just hours before the deadline, without providing any clear reason.
Kang Baeksin, a prosecutor at the Daegu High Prosecutors' Office (Judicial Research and Training Institute, 34th class), who was responsible for maintaining the indictment in the Daejang-dong corruption case, wrote on the prosecution's internal network on this day, "I was waiting at the court to file the appeal, but was told by the fourth deputy chief prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office that both the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the chief prosecutor did not permit it, so there was no other choice."
Chief Prosecutor Jung appears to have taken responsibility and expressed his intention to resign, anticipating continued internal repercussions over the decision not to appeal.
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