47 Senior Prosecutors Get New Positions

The Justice Ministry approved Saturday the reassignment or promotion of 47 senior prosecutors to take effect Tuesday. Eleven officials were promoted to directors.

Three out of four top positions were replaced. Cha Dong-min, director of planning and coordination at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, was promoted to director of the prosecution bureau at the Justice Ministry; Park Yong-seok, chief of the Cheongju District Public Prosecutors’ Office, was named director of central investigation at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office; and Park Han-cheol, chief of the Ulsan District Public Prosecutors’ Office, will head the public security department of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office.

Myeong Dong-seong was retained as director of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.

Hwang Gyo-an, policy planning director of the Justice Ministry, was promoted to director of planning at the Legal Research and Training Institute. He had missed two promotions under the previous administration after urging the detention of a university professor whose left-wing article on the Korean War sparked a bitter debate.

Kim Hong-il, a director at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office who led the investigation of the stock fraud scandal that involved President Lee Myung-bak, was promoted to deputy director of the Legal Research and Training Institute.

Shin Jong-dae, a director who led a series of investigations during the presidential election campaign period, was promoted to director of the Busan District Public Prosecutors’ Office.

Other prosecutors promoted to director were Kim Yeong-han; Lee Jae-won; Kim Byeong-hwa; Nam Gi-chun; Seok Dong-hyeon; Ju Cheol-hyeon; Choi Gyo-il; and Han Myeong-gwan.

Of the 11 prosecutors promoted to director, four are from Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province; four from Seoul; two from Gwangju and South Jeolla Province; and one from South Chungcheong Province. Busan and South Gyeongsang Province failed to produce any new directors.

Staff at the High Prosecutors Office also saw several promotions. Kim Tae-hyeon, chief of the Busan District Public Prosecutor`s Office, was promoted to director of the Legal Research and Training Institute.

Kim Jun-gyu, chief of the Daejeon District Public Prosecutors’ Office, will head the Busan District Public Prosecutors’ Office. Lee Jun-bo, director of public security at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, was promoted to chief prosecutor of the Gwangju High Prosecutors’ Office. The Seoul High Prosecutors Office retained chief prosecutor Park Young-su.

Those transferred to take over branch offices were Kim Su-min (Busan); Cheon Seong-gwan (Suwon); Shin Sang-gyu (Incheon); Kim Jong-in (Daegu); Jo Geun-ho (Daejeon); Hwang Hui-cheol (Gwangju); Lee Bok-tae (Seoul’s eastern district); Park Yeong-ryeol (Seoul’s southern district); Park Sang-ok (Seoul’s northern district); Lee Sang-do (Seoul’s western district); Park Tae-gyu (Uijeongbu); Kim Jin-tae (Cheongju); Roh Hwan-gyun (Ulsan); Jeong Jin-yeong (Changwon); Kim Hak-ui (Chuncheon); Chae Dong-uk (Jeonju); and Park Yeong-gwan (Jeju).

Other transfers included So Byeong-cheol, deputy chief of the Daejeon District Public Prosecutors’ Office, to the planning and coordination bureau of the Justice Ministry, and Lee In-gyu, deputy chief of the Daejeon High Prosecutors’ Office, to director of planning and coordination at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office.

needjung@donga.com