Legal Community Warns of "Muzzling Prosecutors"
Resistance Expected to Intensify if Chief Prosecutors Are Demoted
Government and Ruling Party See "Collective Insubordination"
Some Suggest Move Aims to Neutralize President Lee's Investigations and Prosecutions
The government is reportedly moving to reassign chief prosecutors from local district prosecutor’s offices-who demanded an explanation from former Acting Prosecutor General Noh Manseok regarding the decision to forgo an appeal in the Daejang-dong case-to the position of ordinary prosecutors.
On November 17, there is growing criticism within and outside the legal community that this is effectively an attempt to muzzle prosecutors. Observers predict that if the demotion of chief prosecutors to ordinary prosecutors becomes a reality, resistance within the prosecution will intensify.
On November 10, chief prosecutors from 18 district offices nationwide-excluding Lim Eunjeong of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office and Kim Taehun of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office-posted a statement on the prosecution’s internal network, requesting further explanation from former Acting Prosecutor General Noh about the decision to forgo an appeal. However, the statement did not include any request for Noh to voluntarily resign or clarify his position.
Nevertheless, the government and the ruling party have concluded that these prosecutors engaged in “collective insubordination.” The Democratic Party of Korea, on November 14, proposed a bill to abolish the Prosecutor Disciplinary Act and amend the Prosecutors’ Office Act, which would allow prosecutors-including the Prosecutor General-to be dismissed like ordinary civil servants, without the need for impeachment by the National Assembly.
Within the legal community, there are doubts as to whether the chief prosecutors’ posting of the statement on the internal network constitutes a criminal offense. A lawyer who previously served as a presiding judge commented, “If posting a statement requesting an accurate explanation of a controversial incident is considered insubordination, it is no different from telling them to close their ears and mouths and just quietly breathe. It is questionable whether a demotion is warranted for something that, at most, might merit a warning.”
Some speculate that the current administration is attempting to demote chief prosecutors it appointed in order to suppress investigations and prosecutions involving President Lee Jaemyung.
Investigations and trials involving President Lee have effectively come to a standstill, and there is concern that, after replacing all the chief prosecutors under the pretext of insubordination, the administration might use the “withdrawal of indictment” card to neutralize the trial against President Lee.
A lawyer who formerly served as a chief prosecutor stated, “Any prosecutor should naturally raise questions about decisions by the Ministry of Justice and prosecution leadership that shake the very foundation of the prosecution. If (the chief prosecutors) are demoted simply for requesting an explanation from the acting Prosecutor General-not for making political statements-then they should correct this through an administrative lawsuit and then express their intention to resign.”
If the chief prosecutors who issued the statement are demoted to ordinary prosecutors, it is expected that the prosecution will be thrown into turmoil. It is also possible that not only the chief prosecutors, but also local branch chiefs and ordinary prosecutors who expressed their views on the decision to forgo the appeal, may all express their intention to resign.
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