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Noh Man-seok, acting prosecutor general and deputy chief prosecutor at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, arrives for work at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on Nov. 12. / Source: Yonhap News

Noh Man-seok, acting prosecutor general and deputy chief prosecutor at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office (Judicial Research and Training Institute Class of 29), tendered his resignation on Nov. 12. His move comes just five days after the controversy erupted over prosecutors’ decision to forgo an appeal in the Daejang-dong development case.

The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office announced in the afternoon that “Acting Prosecutor General Noh submitted his resignation today.” Noh had served as acting prosecutor general for a little over four months, after then-Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung voluntarily stepped down in July.

Faced with growing unrest inside the prosecution over the decision not to appeal the Daejang-dong ruling, Noh reportedly took annual leave the previous day citing health reasons and considered his future from home. With his resignation, the prosecution is expected to move into a “stand-in for the stand-in” system, with Cha Soon-gil, the most senior of the bureau chiefs at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office and head of the Planning and Coordination Department, likely to assume the role.

Earlier, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office failed to submit an appeal in the Daejang-dong development corruption case by the court’s deadline. Although the investigation and trial teams maintained that an appeal was necessary, allegations arose that the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office leadership had been swayed by the Justice Ministry’s position when it decided not to authorize the appeal.