As the Ministry of Justice requested disciplinary action against prosecutors involved in the "Suwon District Prosecutors' Office mass walkout incident," an active-duty prosecutor has publicly pushed back, demanding clarification on the grounds for the disciplinary decision.
Kong Bong-suk, a prosecutor at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, posted an article titled "Please clarify the grounds for the disciplinary decision against the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office leadership" on e-Pros, the internal prosecution network, the previous day.
Prosecutor Kong stated, "Despite the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Inspection Committee ruling to dismiss the charges, the Ministry of Justice directly reconvened the inspection committee to pass a disciplinary decision," adding, "An explanation is needed as to why the judgment was reversed from 'all charges dismissed' to 'disciplinary action.'"
Regarding the abuse of the right to file an objection against the judicial panel, which is known as the grounds for discipline, she said, "Prosecutors are holders of the right to file an objection under the Criminal Procedure Act," and added, "I do not know which part of the Suwon District prosecutors' actions at the time constituted an abuse of the right to object, or what the leadership wrongfully directed and supervised."
Mentioning that in the subsequent citizen participation trial, a significant number of witnesses whose requests had been initially rejected were adopted, and former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young was found guilty of perjury, she said, "It appears to have been a very necessary and appropriate measure given the circumstances at the time."
Regarding the violation of the obligation to report in advance, she also argued, "I understand that the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office reported the intention to file the objection to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in advance," and challenged, "If there are any cases where frontline prosecutors' offices reported to the Ministry of Justice before filing an objection against the judicial panel, bring them forward."
Furthermore, Prosecutor Kong criticized, "Prosecutors will no longer know the criteria for what constitutes active handling of duties versus the abuse of prosecutorial authority," adding, "Ultimately, this leaves them with no choice but to resort to extreme passivity, defeatism, and walking on eggshells."
In November of last year, prosecutors at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office expressed their intention to file an objection against the judicial panel after their request for witnesses was rejected during the trial for former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young's "drinking party suspicion perjury case," and all of them walked out of the courtroom.
Minister of Justice Jung Sung-ho requested disciplinary reprimands the previous day for two prosecutors who served as heads of Criminal Division 6 at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office at the time.
The former first and second deputy chiefs of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office received warnings from the minister, taking into consideration that they had submitted their resignations.
Previously, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Inspection Committee concluded in April that it would be difficult to discipline the prosecutors in question, but the Ministry of Justice Inspection Committee determined that they should have reported to and obtained approval from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in advance, thereby recognizing the misconduct.
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.