"Leadership to Block Outside Pressure Is Urgently Needed"... Four-Way Race for Prosecutor General With "Lee Case Indictment Withdrawal" as a Time Bomb

Four-way race to become the first Public Prosecution Agency chief: How are they viewed within the prosecution service?
Lee Jeonghyeon: "Stability"; Lee Jinsu: "Meticulousness"
Park Cheolwoo: "Resolve"; Seong Sangheon: "Respect within the organizatio

The public nomination process to select the inaugural chief of the Public Prosecution Office (Prosecutor General) concluded on the 21st, raising hopes that the 15-month vacancy at the top will finally come to an end. Four people are being considered as candidates: Deputy Chief of the Public Prosecution Office Lee Jeonghyun (Class 27 of the Judicial Research and Training Institute), Vice Justice Minister Lee Jinsu (Class 29), Chief of the Seoul Central District Public Prosecution Office Park Cheolwoo (Class 30), and Chief of the Seoul Southern District Public Prosecution Office Seong Sangheon (Class 30).

According to legal circles on the 22nd, the leading candidate is Deputy Chief Lee, the most senior of the four. He has served as first deputy chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, chief of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Public Security Department and Planning and Coordination Department, and chief of the Suwon High Prosecutors' Office. His experience spans criminal law, inspection, and organizational planning. He is seen as having an advantage in ensuring continuity as he moves from deputy chief to chief, as well as in providing stability to an organization in transition.

However, his weaknesses, according to those within the prosecution service, include a one-month suspension imposed while he was a research fellow at the Institute of Justice for, among other things, failing to submit a research plan, and his loss in the first trial of his lawsuit challenging the disciplinary action. His hard-line style during the so-called "assault by a public official case" when he was first deputy chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office has also been cited as a weakness. Questions have also been raised about his political judgment in responding to remarks about withdrawing an indictment, the biggest issue facing the organization. During a brief Q&A with reporters on his first day at work last month, a reporter asked about withdrawing the indictment in the president's case. Lee replied, "Whether to withdraw the indictment is a matter to be decided after reviewing the fact-finding team's findings." A senior prosecutor said, "He should have simply stated the basic position that stabilizing the organization is the top priority, but by bringing the issue into the public debate himself, he showed a lack of political judgment. There are concerns among frontline prosecutors about whether he can fend off external pressure."

Vice Justice Minister Lee is regarded as highly capable of taking charge of his work. Known for his meticulous and thorough style, he reportedly examines every line of a report with a ruler, and has led the Justice Ministry's prosecution-related work steadily. A well-known story from his time as second deputy chief of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office recounts how, ahead of a final indictment decision, he spotted a legal flaw in a financial case that even the prosecutor in charge had missed, leading to additional arrest warrants for suspects who had not been detained. His perfectionist tendency to personally oversee every detail of operations is seen as a weakness, however, as it can limit delegation and communication. It is also a liability that he was directly or indirectly involved in the decision-making process during the "controversy over dropping the appeal in the Daejang-dong case," which previously prompted a collective backlash from frontline prosecutors.

Park, who has served as chief of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Anti-Corruption Department and second deputy chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, is the only candidate with a traditional background in major investigations. At a parliamentary audit on the 19th, he firmly denied any involvement in withdrawing the indictment in President Lee's case, saying, "I have neither reviewed it nor discussed it with a higher-level agency. It is no different from any other case." Frontline prosecutors praised him for "showing principle and resolve." However, some inside the prosecution service say Park is not entirely free of responsibility for the "controversy over dropping the Daejang-dong appeal." A frontline chief prosecutor said, "There was a clash with junior prosecutors who raised objections before a clear explanation had been given for how the decision to drop the appeal was made. He said at the parliamentary audit that he had not been involved, but the doubts have not been dispelled."

Yonhap News Agency

Chief Seong is considered to have broad experience in personnel and organizational management and planning, as well as investigations into financial and securities crimes. He has served as director of the Justice Ministry's Prosecution Bureau, chief of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Planning and Coordination Department, director of its Human Rights Supervision Division, chief of the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office, and first deputy chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. He is seen as having the administrative capabilities needed to reorganize the organization and manage its personnel. When the Joint Investigation Team for Securities Crimes was first established at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office in February 2014, he was assigned as one of its original members and led prosecutors and investigators as senior prosecutor for a year, earning the nickname "the original Grim Reaper of Yeouido." His approachable personality and steady work style also helped him become the first director of the Justice Ministry's Prosecution Bureau under the current administration. However, given that he also held a series of key posts under the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration, including deputy chief of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, first deputy chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, and chief of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Planning and Coordination Department, some observers say it remains to be seen whether he will ultimately be selected, considering the appointing authority's judgment and the extent to which the appointment would break with seniority norms.

Those inside and outside the prosecution service are watching closely to see whether the selection of the next chief will be shaped by the developments surrounding the "withdrawal of the indictment in President Lee Jae-myung's case." A chief prosecutor said, "The prevailing view in the Future Committee's investigation is that there were no significant flaws in the existing investigation. If discussions about withdrawing the indictment are pushed forward without a valid justification, it will be difficult to gain the support of frontline prosecutors. There is a strong desire for a chief who can uphold the principles and keep the organization on course."

There is also growing fundamental skepticism about the status and role of the Prosecutor General in the Public Prosecution Office era. A senior prosecution official said, "In the past, the Prosecutor General played a crucial role as the head who made decisions on whether to proceed with or halt major investigations. But under the Public Prosecution Office system, where investigative powers are excluded and the office only decides whether to indict cases referred to it, the scope for the chief to make such decisions has shrunk. If it is difficult to expect firm leadership capable of blocking political pressure, is there really a need for the same Prosecutor General position as before?"

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