President Lee Jae Myung ordered revisions and supplements to the prosecution office organizational plan prepared by the Ministry of Justice on September 10.
The original government plan set the organization’s staffing levels and a department for reviewing cases in which police had decided not to forward them, ahead of the prosecution office’s launch on October 2.
The controversy centered on the number of prosecutors, the department name “Judicial Control Division,” and how to divide the roles of investigation and prosecution.
3-Line Summary
1. The prosecution office organizational plan was ordered to be reconsidered in September.
2. The government plan called for 8,412 (8412) personnel.
3. The revision order differed from the finalized plan.
The Government Plan Kept the Number of Prosecutors at 2,292 (2292)
Under the plan announced by the Ministry of Justice, the prosecution office’s total staffing consisted of 2,292 (2292) prosecutors and 6,120 (6120) general-service personnel, for a total of 8,412 (8412). The plan reduced the total workforce by approximately 20% from the previous level while maintaining the number of prosecutors.
President Lee was reported to have pointed out that the required number of personnel should be reassessed based on actual duties rather than being tied to the existing number of prosecutors. Accordingly, staffing levels became an issue not simply of organizational size, but of determining how many personnel would be needed for decisions on whether to prosecute and courtroom proceedings even after investigative functions were reduced.
Yonhap News TV reported that, according to the Ministry of Justice’s own work assessment, the number of prosecutors whose workload could be reduced by removing direct-investigation duties was around 80. However, because the president’s order called for reconsideration of the plan to maintain the existing staffing level itself, the figure at the time should be viewed as a figure in the government plan, not a final decision.
The Name “Judicial Control Division” Was Also Reconsidered
The government plan named the department responsible for reviewing cases that police and others had decided not to forward the “Judicial Control Division.” However, it was reported that President Lee expressed the view that the name was inappropriate because it did not fit the purpose of the work and could trigger unnecessary controversy.
Opinions differed over the department. Some expressed concern that a mechanism for taking another look at cases not forwarded by police could indirectly preserve the former prosecution service’s investigative function. By contrast, the Legal Times reported that, after investigative authority was abolished, prosecutors in the prosecution office could face a greater burden of proving alleged offenses by reviewing insufficient records during the trial stage.
The core issue is not merely changing the department’s name. This is because the relationship between investigative agencies and prosecutorial agencies could change depending on the scope and authority under which cases not forwarded by police are reviewed.
The Revision Order Was Not the Conclusion of Preparations for the Launch
The order issued on September 10 called for revisions and supplements to the Ministry of Justice’s organizational plan and the enforcement decree of the Prosecutors’ Office Staffing Act. According to reports by the Kookmin Ilbo and the JoongAng Ilbo, the Ministry of Justice was expected to extend the period for public notice of the legislation and begin a process of reconsidering staffing levels, the organizational structure, and department names.
Kim Seung-won, the nominee for minister of justice, stated on September 11 that he planned to prepare thoroughly for the prosecution office’s launch and quickly address problems even after implementation. This was the nominee’s policy direction, not an announcement that the organizational structure and staffing levels had been finalized.
When reading discussions about the prosecution office, it is more accurate not to regard the schedule for its “launch” and the “finalization of its organizational structure” as the same thing. What was confirmed at the time was that the government plan had received an order for revisions, and that the plan’s staffing levels and department name were subject to reconsideration.
References
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