Acting Prosecutor General Gu Ja-hyun Submits Resignation, Taking Responsibility for Criminal Procedure Act Revision

Acting Prosecutor General Gu Ja-hyun (Deputy Prosecutor General at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office), who has been serving as the chief of the prosecution service, has expressed his intent to resign immediately after the passage of the revised Criminal Procedure Act bill at the National Assembly.

At around 6:00 p.m. today (the 31st) as he left work at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, Acting General Gu stated, "I deeply feel my responsibility regarding the revision of the Criminal Procedure Act and have just submitted my resignation."

This comes 258 days after he assumed office on November 15 of last year.

Acting General Gu stated, "Self-reflection by all members of the prosecution is necessary regarding the parts where the prosecution failed to gain the public's trust," but added, "Even if institutional reforms are carried out for such reasons, the essence of the prosecution system—which is to discover the substantial truth and protect crime victims and other parties involved—must not be undermined."

He continued, "I have continuously contemplated the direction of institutional reform to guarantee the rights of the people and protect society from crime," explaining, "Concerns have continuously been raised that this revised Criminal Procedure Act has an inefficient structure in which prosecutors have no choice but to rely only on investigative records to decide whether to indict, making it difficult to faithfully protect victims and taking up a lot of time and cost."

Acting General Gu said, "It is hard to hide my regret and dismay as the revised bill passed as it was without these parts being accepted," earnestly requesting, "Even if the revised bill is sent to the government, please take one more look to see if there will be any institutional vacuum and if there will be any shortcomings in protecting the public."

He added, "I also deeply feel my responsibility for the Criminal Procedure Act being revised in this manner while concerns raised by experts from all walks of life, including the legal community, and the public remain," and expressed hope that "our criminal justice system will develop in a direction where all citizens are fairly protected before the law."

After completing the 29th Judicial Research and Training Institute course, Acting General Gu was appointed as a prosecutor at the Seoul District Prosecutors' Office Southern Branch, subsequently passing through major posts within the prosecution including the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, and the Ministry of Justice.

Around 2020, when then-Minister of Justice Ch 추미애 and then-Prosecutor General Yoon Suk Yeol clashed over the issue of stripping the prosecution of its investigative powers completely, Acting General Gu served as the spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice, acting as Minister Ch's "mouthpiece."

Having served as the 3rd Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Acting General Gu was promoted to Prosecutor General in subsequent personnel reshuffles and appointed as the Chief of the Prosecutors' Office at the Ministry of Justice, overseeing the prosecution's personnel and budget.

Following the change of government to the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, Acting General Gu bounced around "marginal posts" such as Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office, and Research Commissioner at the Judicial Research and Training Institute, before returning to a key post in July of last year when he was appointed as the Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in the first prosecution personnel reshuffle under the Lee Jae-myung government.

In November of last year, following the resignation of former Acting Prosecutor General Noh Man-seok over the controversy surrounding the "dropping of the Daejang-dong appeal," he took over the role of prosecution chief.

Maintaining a restrained stance with almost no external messaging amid the prosecution reform phase after taking office, Acting General Gu expressed public concern, saying he felt "devastated," after a prosecutor handling the Daejang-dong case made an extreme attempt following the launch of a parliamentary audit targeting the prosecution.

Through a doorstepping (brief Q&A session) on his way home from work at the time, Acting General Gu pointed out, "The court's judgment according to due process was attacked based on one-sided and fragmentary claims by case parties, and frontline prosecutors and investigators in charge of investigating and maintaining public prosecutions for the case were summoned as witnesses," adding, "No parliamentary audit should be evaluated as attempting to influence a trial."

Two days ago (the 29th) ahead of the submission of the revised Criminal Procedure Act bill to the National Assembly, Acting General Gu also issued a statement saying, "As Acting Prosecutor General, I have a heavy heart regarding the content and direction of the discussions on revising the Criminal Procedure Act, including the abolition of the prosecution's supplementary investigative powers."

In his statement, Acting General Gu emphasized, "As confirmed in multiple recent issues, if the prosecutor's effective function to review, supplement, and correct the primary investigative agency's findings disappears, the truth will be concealed and South Korea's criminal justice system will collapse," and warned, "The resulting damage will be borne by the citizens who need state protection more than anyone else."

However, as the revised Criminal Procedure Act bill was eventually passed without reflecting the provisions requested by the prosecution, including supplementary investigative powers, it is interpreted that he expressed his intent to resign to take responsibility for this and clearly state his opposition.

Once Acting General Gu's resignation is accepted, Park Kyu-hyung, head of the Planning and Coordination Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, will temporarily take charge of the prosecutor general duties, operating under an "acting for the acting" system.

Some predict that if the government newly appoints an acting prosecutor general, that person may successively take on even the head position of the Investigation Office, which will be launched in October.

On the other hand, with the launch of the Investigation Office imminent, prospects are also raised that the head of the Investigation Office could be nominated directly without appointing an acting head, considering hearing schedules and other factors.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.