Key leadership figures have been finalized ahead of the launch of the Prosecution Office, which will strip the existing Prosecutors' Office of its investigative powers.

The Ministry of Justice announced personnel appointments for 192 prosecutors effective October 2, coinciding with the inauguration of the inaugural Prosecution Office.

Park Jin-sung, current head of the planning department at the Institute of Justice, has been appointed as the Chief of the Serious Crimes Division at the Prosecution Office. Choi Ji-seok, current head of the public investigation department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, has been named Chief of the Public Safety Division.

Lee Eung-chul, current head of the prosecution bureau at the Ministry of Justice, will take charge as the Director of the Criminal Justice Bureau at the Ministry.

Ju Min-chul, current head of the anti-corruption department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, has been appointed as the inaugural head of the Daegu Metropolitan Prosecution Office, the successor to the Daegu High Prosecutors' Office where the position of high prosecutors' office head is currently vacant.

Seo Jung-min, current head of the legal affairs office at the Ministry of Justice, will serve as the inaugural head of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecution Office, the successor to the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, which became vacant after Prosecutor General Lim Eun-jung applied to the Serious Crime Investigation Agency.

Heads of other metropolitan and district prosecution offices will be filled by the current heads of high and district prosecutors' offices, effectively retaining them in their positions.

For instance, current Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Head Park Chul-woo will serve as the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecution Office, and current Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Head Kim Bong-hyun will take charge of the Suwon District Prosecution Office.

Two new "prosecution office prosecutors," equivalent to existing prosecutors general, have been newly appointed.

Kim Nam-hoon, current head of the criminal division at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, has been named head of the legal affairs office at the Ministry of Justice, while Gu Tae-yeon, current prosecutor at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, has been appointed as head of the planning department at the Institute of Justice.

Under the addenda to the Prosecution Office Act, prosecutors from the existing Prosecutors' Office become prosecutors of the Prosecution Office.

Separate personnel appointments are unnecessary in cases where only the affiliation name changes from the Prosecutors' Office to the Prosecution Office without any alterations to the organizational structure.

Conversely, personnel orders are required if the organizational structure changes, such as when job titles are modified, new divisions are established, or names and affiliations are altered.

For example, the "Head of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office" changes to the "Head of Suwon District Prosecution Office," and the "Head of Trial Division at Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office" changes to the "Head of Trial and Litigation Division at Daejeon District Prosecution Office."

The Ministry of Justice explained regarding these appointments, "We conducted the personnel changes taking into account the organizational reorganization and transfers to the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, while minimizing the scale to ensure seamless duty execution and organizational stability during the initial launch period."

(Photo: Yonhap News)