The Justice Ministry has announced its first appointments for the new Prosecution Office, effective October 2. Park Cheol-woo, the current Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, will remain in his position.
According to the Justice Ministry on September 29, the appointment involves a total of over 190 individuals, including 27 prosecutors at the Prosecution Office level, 152 prosecutors at the regional prosecution office level, and 11 general prosecutors, with two new appointments included.
Key appointments include Lee Eung-cheol, who will serve as the Director of the Criminal Justice Bureau, while Choi Ji-seok, head of the Public Investigation Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and Park Jin-seong, head of the Planning Division at the Judicial Research and Training Institute, will be reassigned as heads of the Public Safety Division and Serious Crimes Division, respectively.
With Im Eun-jung moving to the Serious Crimes Investigation Office, Seo Jeong-min, the Justice Ministry's Legal Affairs Director, has been appointed as the Chief of the Eastern District Prosecution Office.
Choi Ji-seok will lead the Public Safety Division at the Prosecution Office, and Park Jin-seong will head the Serious Crimes Division. Kim Nam-hoon, head of the Criminal Division at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, will serve as a prosecutor at the Prosecution Office, while Koo Tae-yeon, a prosecutor at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, will take on the role of head of the Planning Division at the Judicial Research and Training Institute.
The term 'prosecutor-level prosecutor' refers to those who maintain a separate status and qualifications as prosecutors while holding higher positions within the Prosecution Office compared to general prosecutors. This includes positions equivalent to chief prosecutors, deputy chief prosecutors, and senior prosecutors within the prosecution.
The regional prosecution offices will be led by: Kim Tae-hoon as Chief of the Daejeon Regional Prosecution Office (currently Chief Prosecutor of Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office), Joo Min-cheol as Chief of the Daegu Regional Prosecution Office (currently head of the Anti-Corruption Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office), Lee Jong-hyuk as Chief of the Busan Regional Prosecution Office (currently Chief Prosecutor of Busan High Prosecutors' Office), Hong Wan-hee as Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Busan Regional Prosecution Office (currently head of the Drug and Organized Crime Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office), Go Kyung-soon as Chief of the Gwangju Regional Prosecution Office (currently Chief Prosecutor of Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office), and Jang Hye-young as Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Suwon Regional Prosecution Office (currently head of the Scientific Investigation Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office).
The Justice Ministry conducted these appointments based on Article 7 of the Prosecution Office Act, in line with the organizational restructuring. As a result, no separate appointment notices were issued for cases where the name of the affiliated institution changed from Prosecutors' Office to Prosecution Office without any changes to the organizational structure.
For instance, the head of the Criminal Division 1 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office has been transitioned to the head of the Criminal Division 1 at the Seoul Central District Prosecution Office, and the head of the Yeongwol Branch of the Chuncheon District Prosecutors' Office has become the head of the Yeongwol Branch of the Chuncheon District Prosecution Office, which were excluded from the appointment notice.
Conversely, formal appointment notices were issued for cases where job titles changed or new divisions were established or renamed. Examples include the change of title for the Chief Prosecutor of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office to Chief of the Suwon District Prosecution Office, and the rebranding of the head of the Trial Division at the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office to the head of the Trial Litigation Division at the Daejeon District Prosecution Office. The head of the Asset Recovery Division at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, which changed from being under the 4th Deputy Chief Prosecutor to the 3rd Deputy Chief Prosecutor, was also appointed.
A Justice Ministry official stated, "Considering the organizational restructuring and the transition to the Serious Crimes Investigation Office, we minimized the scale of appointments to prevent operational gaps during the initial phase of the Prosecution Office's launch and to ensure organizational stability. We have placed excellent resources in key positions to lead the new criminal justice system effectively."
The official added, "We have strategically assigned mid-level managers to ensure that ongoing cases requiring continued handling for up to 90 days after the office's opening, as well as cases related to imminent election deadlines, are processed without disruption. Additionally, we have appointed experienced senior prosecutors to the newly established Non-Prosecution Review Division to enhance its expertise."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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