Protests are boiling over within the Prosecutors' Office following remarks by Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Yong-min targeting prosecutors' office officials, telling them not to oppose revisions to the Criminal Procedure Act.
Earlier, Lawmaker Kim posted on his social media yesterday afternoon, saying, "I issue a warning to the officials belonging to the prosecutors' office who will soon miserably disappear into the history of democratic victory."
He added, "You must recognize the fact that you are administrative officials and do your utmost to ensure that the laws made by the National Assembly are properly implemented in the field."
He also stated, "Please make remarks or actions claiming that the law is wrong only after you retire and join the People Power Party."
Lawmaker Kim's public warning triggered backlash among prosecutors' office officials.
An investigator who introduced themselves as having 13 years of experience posted an article on the internal prosecutors' bulletin board this morning titled "Look Here, Mister Kim Yong-min," rebutting, "There are not that many people here who need to be warned by you."
The investigator criticized, "Except for individual deviations or problematic officials, ordinary prosecutors' office officials—some 6,000 out of those 7,000 or so—have nothing to be ashamed of before heaven and have never done anything deserving a warning from you."
The investigator went on to ask, "If you wanted to achieve greater political success by utilizing us, you should have pointed out a few specific problems of the prosecution. Why resort to personal attacks against ordinary working people?"
"We will do our best to ensure that laws made by the National Assembly are properly implemented in the field, but since you felt the need to issue a warning, I am leaving a word," the investigator pointed out, adding, "I hope you refrain from speaking carelessly with a perspective that does not know how to respect public officials."
Finally, the investigator concluded the post by saying, "I hope you apologize for showing a warning out of political greed. If you do, I will also apologize for calling you 'mister.'"
Nearly 50 real-name comments were posted on the investigator's article in about four hours after it was uploaded.
Comments denouncing Lawmaker Kim and cheering for the investigator followed, quoting Lawmaker Kim's expression that they would "disappear miserably," with remarks such as, "I now realize that the revised Criminal Procedure Act was made to make prosecutors' office officials look miserable rather than for the rights and interests of the people," and "Lumping everyone together without context, consuming them with a political frame, and insulting all innocent members."
(Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Ahn Jun-hyeok | Graphics by Lee Jung-joo | Produced by SBS Digital News)
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