New chief prosecutor of Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office is appointed

Lee Jeong-soo, the chief planning and coordination officer of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, was appointed on Friday as the new chief prosecutor of Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office, which is in charge of the investigation into Lime Asset Management’s fund fraud. The appointment was made one day after former chief prosecutor of the office Park Soon-cheol resigned in criticism of Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae’s invocation of the command of the investigation, saying, “The politics have taken over the prosecution.”

“In order to prevent a vacuum in the independent command of the investigation into the case of Lime Asset Management, which has garnered national attention, Park’s resignation has been processed and successor Lee’s appointment was made for him to immediately perform his duties,” the Ministry of Justice said on Friday. The ministry asked the members of the office to focus on quickly and rigorously finding truths by centering around the newly appointed chief prosecutor and remaining independent from the ministry, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and the politics solely in consideration of the public.

“I feel a heavy sense of responsibility for taking the position in such critical times,” Lee wrote in his statement right after the appointment. “I will remain balanced and carry out a fair and thorough investigation to discover truths.”


Seok-Jun Bae eulius@donga.com