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The Ministry of Justice announced on Aug. 21 that all four deputy chiefs at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office have been replaced in a major reshuffle affecting 695 prosecutors nationwide. / Source: Asia Today DB

The Ministry of Justice announced a major reshuffle of mid-level prosecutors on Thursday, replacing all four deputy chiefs at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, the country’s largest prosecutorial branch.

A total of 695 officials were reassigned, including 665 senior prosecutors (chief and deputy chiefs) and 30 rank-and-file prosecutors. They will assume their new posts starting Aug. 27.

The ministry said the reshuffle focused on “appointing individuals with proven leadership and strong practical skills, who have demonstrated dedication to the nation and the people.”

At Seoul Central District, Choi Jae-ah, head of the Gimcheon branch, was appointed as the new first deputy chief — marking the first woman to hold the position. Jang Hye-young, deputy chief at the Busan Western branch, will serve as the second deputy; Park Jun-young, head of the Criminal Division 1 at Suwon District, will take over as the third deputy; and Lee Jun-ho, the office’s public affairs officer, will lead as the fourth deputy, overseeing major investigative divisions such as the anti-corruption unit.

Their predecessors have either stepped down or been reassigned: former first deputy Park Seung-hwan resigned, while second deputy Gong Bong-sook moved to the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office, and third deputy Lee Sung-sik was reassigned to the Daegu High Prosecutors’ Office.

At the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office, Kim Nam-hoon, previously the human rights protection officer at Seoul Central, was named first deputy chief, while Park Jin-sung from the Gunsan branch was appointed as second deputy. The office oversees Yeouido, home to the National Assembly, and handles financial and securities crimes.

Meanwhile, Jang Jae-wan, head of the Criminal Division 8 at Seoul Central, was appointed as chief of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s anti-corruption planning division, which supervises nationwide corruption investigations. Lim Sam-bin, deputy chief at the Goyang branch, will oversee public security, election, and labor crime investigations as chief of the Supreme Prosecutors’ public security planning division.

At Suwon District, Kim Hyun-ah, head of the Justice Ministry’s Criminal Justice Information System Division, was named first deputy chief, while Lee Sung-beom, chief of the Supreme Prosecutors’ IT division, will serve as second deputy.