Prosecutors’ Office Chiefs Demand Resignation of Acting Prosecutor General
The decision by Acting Prosecutor General Noh Man-seok to abandon the appeal in the Daejang-dong development corruption case trial has sparked significant backlash. This move led to a strong reaction from 25 current prosecutors’ office chiefs, who called for his resignation, describing the action as “unacceptable.” The Democratic Party of Korea labeled this as a “mutiny” by pro-Yoon Suk-yeol prosecutors and urged the Ministry of Justice to investigate the matter. However, it was revealed that 16 of the 25 chiefs who demanded Noh’s resignation were promoted to their positions after the current government took office.
These 25 prosecutors’ office chiefs, excluding those affiliated with the Justice Training and Research Institute, all hold their current positions. Among them, 16 were promoted to chiefs in July. This group includes notable figures such as Lee Man-heum (Uijeongbu District Prosecutors’ Office chief), Lee Eung-cheol (Chuncheon District Prosecutors’ Office chief), Seo Jeong-min (Daejeon District Prosecutors’ Office chief), Kim Hyang-yeon (Cheongju District Prosecutors’ Office chief), Park Hyuk-su (Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office chief), Yoo Do-yoon (Ulsan District Prosecutors’ Office chief), Moon Hyun-cheol (Changwon District Prosecutors’ Office chief), Shin Dae-kyung (Jeonju District Prosecutors’ Office chief), and Jeong Su-jin (Jeju District Prosecutors’ Office chief). These individuals oversee frontline prosecutors’ offices.
Senior officials aiding Noh at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, including Cha Soon-gil (head of the Planning and Coordination Division), Kim Hyung-seok (head of the Narcotics and Organized Crime Division), Cha Beom-jun (head of the Trial and Litigation Division), and Choi Young-ah (head of the Scientific Investigation Division), were also promoted to chiefs in the recent personnel reshuffle. Acting high prosecutors’ office chiefs, such as Lee Jun-beom (Suwon High Prosecutors’ Office deputy chief), Min Kyung-ho (Daejeon High Prosecutors’ Office deputy chief), and Park Kyu-hyung (Daegu High Prosecutors’ Office deputy chief), were similarly promoted under the current administration.
The list of chiefs demanding Noh’s resignation included several who held key posts during the Moon Jae-in administration but were later sidelined. For example, Lee Man-heum, promoted in July, served as head of the Criminal Division 2 at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in 2020 and head of the Criminal Division 7 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office in 2021. However, after the previous government took office, he was relegated to roles such as human rights protection officer at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office and professor at the Justice Training and Research Institute’s Jincheon headquarters. Seo Jeong-min, Daejeon District Prosecutors’ Office chief, also held significant positions during the Moon administration, including head of the Criminal Division 8 and 13 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. But in September 2023, he was demoted to professor at the Justice Training and Research Institute’s Jincheon headquarters and later assigned to the institute’s Yongin branch, remaining in minor roles. A prosecution official interpreted this as “even those who were not favored during former President Yoon’s term joining the call for Noh’s resignation.”
Others promoted to chiefs under the previous administration but later marginalized also supported the demand. A representative example is Kim Chang-jin, Busan District Prosecutors’ Office chief. He served as head of the Prosecution Division at the Ministry of Justice during the early Yoon Suk-yeol administration and oversaw the investigation into former first lady Kim Keon-hee’s alleged receipt of a Dior bag as Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office deputy chief. However, in May of last year, he was transferred to the Justice Training and Research Institute’s Planning Division—a post perceived as a “remote assignment”—effectively excluding him from investigations. At the time, internal criticism described his promotion as a “demotion disguised as promotion.”
Additionally, Park Hyun-cheol, Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office chief, and Cha Soon-gil, head of the Planning and Coordination Division at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, who were involved in the reinvestigation decision regarding Kim Keon-hee’s alleged Deutsche Motors stock price manipulation, also joined the call. Park was Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office deputy chief, and Cha was head of the Criminal Division at the time of the decision.
Among frontline prosecutors, criticism emerged: “How many pro-Yoon figures remain in the prosecution today?” A senior prosecution official stated, “Those labeled ‘special prosecutors’ aligned with Yoon have mostly left the prosecution and do not hold key positions. The ruling party should not attempt to obscure the essence of the prosecution leadership’s decision to abandon the appeal.”