Norman Seok, Acting Prosecutor General, to Hold Private Farewell Ceremony Tomorrow

To Be Held Privately... Farewell Address Draws Attention

Norman Seok, Acting Prosecutor General, who announced his intention to resign following the decision to forgo an appeal in the Daejang-dong case, will step down on November 14.

According to the legal community on November 13, a farewell ceremony for Acting Prosecutor General Seok will be held at 10:30 a.m. on November 14 in the main conference room on the 15th floor of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office main building. The ceremony will be held privately.

The previous day, Acting Prosecutor General Seok expressed his intention to resign, stating that he would share further details in his farewell address. The farewell address is scheduled to be distributed to the press immediately after the ceremony.

Norman Seok, Acting Prosecutor General who is under pressure to resign for giving up the appeal in the Daejang-dong development corruption case, is arriving at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul on November 12, 2025. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

Acting Prosecutor General Seok had been under intense pressure to resign due to the controversy over forgoing the appeal in the Daejang-dong case, and abruptly announced his intention to step down the previous day. It has been four months since he assumed the role as acting prosecutor general after Shim Woojeong, then Prosecutor General, resigned in July.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office did not file an appeal by the deadline of midnight on November 7 regarding the first trial verdict for the private developers involved in the Daejang-dong case. The Central District Prosecutors’ Office had recommended an appeal, as is customary for first-instance verdicts with disputed issues, but it is reported that the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office leadership, after consulting with the Ministry of Justice, did not accept this recommendation.

On November 9, Acting Prosecutor General Seok stated, “For the Daejang-dong case, we received a report from the local office and, as with other significant cases, also referred to the opinion of the Ministry of Justice. The decision was made after careful consideration, in consultation with the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, and under my responsibility as acting prosecutor general.”

However, Jeong Jinwoo, head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, who announced his intention to resign immediately after the decision to forgo the appeal, countered by saying, “While I accept the direction from the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, I wish to make it clear that the opinion of the Central District Prosecutors’ Office was different, and I am resigning to take responsibility for this situation.”

Subsequently, dissent within the prosecution over the decision not to appeal grew, and Acting Prosecutor General Seok ultimately expressed his intention to resign. After leaving work the previous day without making any public statement regarding his resignation, he told reporters he met near his home, “In truth, what I did was not disgraceful, and I acted in my own way to protect the prosecution.”