▲ Acting Prosecutor General Koo Ja-hyun leaves the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-dong and states his position on the 31st, following the passage of the revised Criminal Procedure Act at the National Assembly plenary session, which completely abolishes prosecutors' direct and supplementary investigation powers.
Acting Prosecutor General Koo Ja-hyun (Deputy Prosecutor General at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office), who has been serving as the chief of the prosecution service, expressed his intention to resign immediately after the passage of the revised Criminal Procedure Act in the National Assembly.
On his way home from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office at 6:00 PM today (the 31st), Acting Chief Koo stated, "I take full responsibility for the revision of the Criminal Procedure Act and have just submitted my resignation."
This comes 258 days after he took office on November 15 of last year.
Acting Chief Koo remarked, "While introspection by all members of the prosecution service is necessary regarding the areas where the prosecution failed to gain the public's trust, the essence of the prosecution system—which is to discover substantive truth and protect victims and other individuals involved in cases—must not be undermined even if institutional reforms are implemented for such reasons."
He continued, "I have continuously pondered the direction of institutional reform aimed at guaranteeing the rights of the public and protecting society from crime. We have also continuously raised concerns that this revised Criminal Procedure Act has an inefficient structure where prosecutors have no choice but to decide on indictments relying solely on investigative records, making it difficult to faithfully protect victims while consuming substantial time and costs."
Acting Chief Koo noted, "The revised bill passed as it is without these parts being accepted, and it is difficult to hide my feelings of regret and helplessness. I earnestly ask that once more, even as the revised bill is forwarded to the government, you look into whether there will be any institutional gaps or any shortcomings in protecting the public."
He added, "Taking full responsibility for the fact that the Criminal Procedure Act is being revised in this manner while concerns raised by legal professionals, experts from various fields, and the public still remain, I hope that our criminal justice system will develop in a direction where all citizens are fairly protected before the law."
Having completed the 29th Judicial Research and Training Institute course, Acting Chief Koo was appointed as a prosecutor at the Seoul District Prosecutors' Office Southern Branch and has since served in major prosecution posts including the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, and the Ministry of Justice.
During the period in 2020 when then-Minister of Justice Ch 추미애 (Choo Mi-ae) and then-Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl conflicted over the issue of "Geomsuwanbak" (complete deprivation of prosecutors' investigative powers), Acting Chief Koo served as the spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice, acting as the "mouthpiece" for Minister Choo.
After serving as the 3rd Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Acting Chief Koo was promoted to prosecutor general in a subsequent reshuffle and appointed as the Director of the Prosecution Bureau at the Ministry of Justice, overseeing the prosecution service's personnel and budget.
Following the change of administration to the Yoon Seok-youl government, Acting Chief Koo rotated through "marginal posts" such as Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office, and Research Fellow at the Justice Research and Training Institute, before returning to a key position when he was appointed as the Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in the first prosecution reshuffle under the Lee Jae-myung government in July of last year.
In November of last year, following the resignation of former Acting Prosecutor General Noh Man-seok, who stepped down amid controversy over the "dropping of the Daejang-dong appeal," he took over as the head of the prosecution service.
After taking office, Acting Chief Koo maintained a restrained stance with almost no external messages during the phase of prosecution reform. However, after a parliamentary state audit targeting the prosecution began and a prosecutor investigating the Daejang-dong case made an extreme choice, he expressed public concern, saying he felt "devastated."
Through doorstepping (brief Q&A) on his way home from work at the time, Acting Chief Koo pointed out, "The court's judgment according to due process was attacked based on one-sided and fragmentary claims by case parties, and front-line prosecutors and investigators in charge of the investigation and maintenance of public prosecutions for the case were summoned as witnesses. No state audit should be evaluated as attempting to influence a trial."
Prior to the submission of the revised Criminal Procedure Act bill, Acting Chief Koo also issued a statement the day before yesterday (the 29th) stating, "As the Acting Prosecutor General, I hold a heavy heart regarding the content and direction of the discussions on revising the Criminal Procedure Act, including the abolition of prosecutors' supplementary investigation powers."
In the statement, Acting Chief Koo emphasized, "As confirmed in numerous recent matters, if the effective inspection, supplementation, and correction functions of prosecutors regarding the investigative content of primary investigative agencies disappear, the truth will be concealed and South Korea's criminal justice system will collapse. The resulting damage will be borne by the citizens who need the state's protection more than anyone else."
However, as the revised Criminal Procedure Act ultimately passed without reflecting the supplementary investigation powers and other provisions requested by the prosecution, it is interpreted that he expressed his intention to resign to take responsibility and clearly state his opposition.
Once Acting Chief Koo's resignation is accepted, Park Kyu-hyung, Director of Planning and Coordination at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, will temporarily take over the duties of the Prosecutor General, operating under an "acting-for-the-acting" system.
Some raise the prospect that if the government newly appoints an acting prosecutor general, that person may successively take on even the head of the upcoming Investigation Office (Gongso-cheong) launching in October.
On the other hand, given that the launch of the Investigation Office is imminent, there are also forecasts that considering hearing schedules and other factors, a head of the Investigation Office could be nominated directly without appointing an acting chief.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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