Junior prosecutors nationwide gather to discuss reform bills

Apr 20, 2022, 08:48 am

AsiaToday reporter Kim Hyun-goo

Junior public prosecutors nationwide will gather to discuss the ruling Democratic Party’s push to take away the prosecution’s investigative authority.

According to the legal community on Tuesday, the front-line public prosecutors of Public Prosecutors’ Office will hold a meeting entitled, “Nationwide Public Prosecutors Representative Meeting,” at the Seoul District Prosecutor’s Office at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. Around 150 prosecutors from offices across the country are scheduled to gather.

Around 10 prosecutors from the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office and four to five from the front-line district public prosecutor’s offices are expected to attend the meeting.

At the meeting, the attendees are expected to discuss proposed revisions to the Criminal Procedure Act and the Prosecutors’ Office Act, and announce the details of the meeting later.

The meeting was held after the members of the Daejeon District Prosecutor’s Office posted last Tuesday an article entitled, “We propose to hold a representative meeting of junior prosecutors nationwide,” the internal network of the prosecution, e-PROS.

“The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, chief prosecutors and junior prosecutors as well as prosecution investigation officers, the Korean Bar Association, and civic groups are presenting their opinions,” the post said. “We propose to discuss what issues could arise if the bill is passed as proposed, while sharing what side effects could occur if the prosecution loses its investigative power.”

It is the first national level gathering from junior prosecutors since such a gathering in March 2003 when they expressed opposition to personnel decisions for the prosecution by then-Justice Minister Kang Keum-sil under the Roh Moo-hyun administration.

The most recent junior prosecutors’ meeting was held in November 2020, when former Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae ordered the suspension of then-Prosecutor General Yoon Suk-yeol. By the time, however, the meeting was held mainly by senior-level prosecutors.

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