Chief Prosecutor Jeong Yumi, a Vocal Critic of the Lee Jaemyung Administration’s Prosecution Reform, Demoted to High Prosecutor
Promotion of Chief Prosecutors with Ruling Party Ties and Activist Backgrounds... Prosecution Insiders Call It “Code Appointments”
Some of the chief prosecutors who had issued a joint statement regarding the decision to forgo an appeal in the Daejang-dong development corruption case have been demoted. Within the prosecution, there is growing sentiment that these personnel changes amount to a targeted purge.
On December 11, the Ministry of Justice announced that, effective December 15, four new appointments and four transfers would be made at the chief prosecutor level within the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office.
Among the front-line chief prosecutors who had issued a statement requesting an explanation for the decision to forgo an appeal in the Daejang-dong case, Park Hyuksu, Chief Prosecutor of the Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office, Kim Changjin, Chief Prosecutor of the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office, and Park Hyuncheol, Chief Prosecutor of the Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office, have been reassigned as research fellows at the Legal Research and Training Institute, effectively a demotion. Jeong Yumi, a research fellow at the Legal Research and Training Institute (chief prosecutor), who has consistently opposed the Lee Jaemyung administration’s push for prosecutorial reforms such as the abolition of the prosecution service, has been demoted to a prosecutor at the Daejeon High Prosecutors’ Office.
The positions vacated by those demoted were immediately filled. Kim Bonghyeon, prosecutor at the Gwangju High Prosecutors’ Office, was promoted to Chief Prosecutor of the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office; Jeong Jiyeong, head of the Goyang Branch, was promoted to Chief Prosecutor of the Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office; Kim Namsun, prosecutor at the Ulsan Branch of the Busan High Prosecutors’ Office, was promoted to Chief Prosecutor of the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office; and Kim Jongwoo, head of the Bucheon Branch, was promoted to Chief Prosecutor of the Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office.
Except for Kim Jongwoo, the newly promoted chief prosecutors are widely regarded within the prosecution as having strong pro-government tendencies. It is reported that they are either close to ruling party figures or have activist backgrounds. As a result, there are growing criticisms within the prosecution that all the chief prosecutors who commanded deep trust within the organization have been removed in favor of “code appointments.”
The Ministry of Justice explained these personnel changes by stating, “In order to restore discipline and revitalize the atmosphere within the prosecution, we have reassigned chief prosecutors at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office level to high prosecutors for repeatedly undermining the organization’s honor and trust by causing misunderstandings regarding the prosecution’s political neutrality and fairness, and by repeatedly criticizing internal members with inappropriate expressions.”
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