▲ New prosecutors take a commemorative photo during their appointment ceremony held at the Ministry of Justice in the Government Complex Gwacheon on the 3rd.
The Ministry of Justice held an appointment ceremony this morning (the 3rd) at the Government Complex Gwacheon for 19 new prosecutors who passed the 12th bar exam and were discharged from military service as legal officers.
As the Prosecutors' Office is scheduled to be abolished in October under the legislation establishing the Serious Crime Investigation Agency and the Prosecution Service, today's event is expected to be the final prosecutor appointment ceremony held under the Prosecutors' Office.
Attending the event, Minister of Justice Chung Sung-ho told the new prosecutors, "The essential role of a prosecutor in protecting the public from crime will never change," urging them to "deeply engrave the essence of the prosecutorial system—protecting human rights—in your hearts and faithfully carry out your inherent duties."
Minister Chung explained, "While there was public outrage and criticism in the past due to the abuse of authority by some prosecutors, the vast majority of your seniors are people who have dedicated their lives to protecting public human rights with a sense of mission as public servants."
He added, "Based on that same sense of mission, I ask you to actively perform the roles assigned under the new system so that it can establish itself as a more effective and human-rights-friendly system for the public."
Minister Chung particularly emphasized the role of new prosecutors as legal experts.
"Going forward, the weight of a prosecutor's work will shift toward serving as a control tower for major crimes requiring a high level of expertise as criminal law specialists, such as financial and securities crimes and unfair trading crimes, as well as the function of maintaining indictments to reveal the substantive truth in open court," Minister Chung said. "Show your expertise in these new fields so that the public can truly feel it."
He also pointed out, "A single rash judgment or action by one prosecutor can undermine the trust of the entire prosecution and further cause distrust in the national criminal justice system," urging them to "always be mindful of your conduct, keeping in mind the heavy responsibilities and authority granted to prosecutors."
Following two months of practical training at the Justice Research and Training Institute, the new prosecutors are scheduled to be deployed to front-line offices to perform their duties in early October.
The Ministry of Justice stated that considering the urgent need to replenish prosecutorial personnel, the deployment schedule for the new prosecutors has been brought forward by about a month compared to previous years.
The Ministry stated, "Amid major changes in the criminal justice system, we will strive to faithfully support the prosecution in performing its inherent role of protecting public human rights and safeguarding the community from crime."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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