Home > Opinion > Columns

Why progressive administrations have struggled to rein in the prosecution

Published: 23 Jul. 2025, 00:02

Park Jin-seok

The author is the editor of the investigative reporting bureau at the JoongAng Ilbo.

In the summer of 2003, a striking resignation letter circulated within Korea’s legal community. It came from Jang Yoon-seok, then head of the Justice Ministry’s Prosecutors’ Office. After being abruptly demoted to deputy chief of the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office — a move widely seen as an attempt to push him out — he chose not to resign quietly. Instead, he accepted the new post, submitted his resignation after arrival, and left a pointed record: he had not retreated voluntarily, but fallen to what he called “the bullets of personnel action.”

Such was the tone of the Roh Moo-hyun administration’s early confrontations with the prosecution. Roh dismissed then-Prosecutor General Kim Kak-young with the blunt statement, “I do not trust today’s prosecution.” His government also replaced several senior prosecutors, many of whom left office angry and disillusioned.

Justice Minister Chung Sung-ho greets ministry staff before delivering his inaugural address at a ceremony held at the government complex in Gwacheon on July 21. [YONHAP]

The Roh administration’s approach — dismantling the prosecution’s hierarchy through aggressive personnel shifts — set the tone for how progressive governments would later engage with the institution. There was a logic to this: the prosecution had long been closely aligned with conservative governments. Its stated mission of upholding the law to preserve social order had naturally dovetailed with the priorities of the political right. In return, prosecutors often served those administrations loyally. This made them a liability for progressive leaders, who faced disproportionately hostile investigations.

In response, Roh’s team sidelined senior prosecutors and filled top posts with outsiders, most notably Kang Kum-sil, a progressive lawyer and former judge with no prosecution experience. Her appointment as justice minister, despite being younger than many of the officials she would oversee, shocked the organization. Prosecutors responded with fierce pushback, launching high-profile investigations, including into illegal campaign financing, that ultimately contributed to the Roh administration’s decline.

The pattern repeated. Under the Moon Jae-in administration, the appointment of Yoon Suk Yeol as chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office marked a revolutionary disruption of the traditional personnel order. Yoon had never even served as a deputy chief at a district prosecutors’ office, yet was suddenly vaulted into the most powerful prosecutorial position in the country. This rapid promotion ultimately led to his appointment as prosecutor general and triggered the departure of many senior prosecutors who had been his superiors in both rank and seniority. When he later broke ranks with the administration, the government scrambled to fill key positions with loyalists — some of whom had little experience. This included the appointment of top officials who had never held core roles, such as heads of the criminal or public security divisions.

These efforts backfired. The appointees, lacking both expertise and political acumen, failed to contain Yoon’s faction within the prosecution. The result: the rise of Yoon Suk Yeol to the presidency, backed in part by the very institution the Moon administration had tried to neutralize.

Now, with a new progressive government under President Lee Jae Myung, the cycle appears to be repeating. The former prosecutor general from the previous administration stepped down without a fight. A non-prosecutor was appointed justice minister, and key personnel changes were made even before the leadership team was in place. One such move was the appointment of Lim Eun-jung as chief prosecutor of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office—a promotion directly from deputy prosecutor, bypassing standard interim roles.

Lim Eun-jung, the new chief of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office, delivers her inaugural address during a ceremony held at the office in Songpa District, Seoul, on July 4. [YONHAP]

Lim, known for her outspoken criticism of prosecutorial misconduct and for her role as an internal whistleblower, has drawn public sympathy and recognition. However, she has limited experience in core prosecutorial tasks such as directing major investigations, filing indictments or overseeing trial strategies. Her sudden leap to a top post raises questions: can she provide sound judgment during politically sensitive probes, especially those involving the ruling party?

The lesson for the Lee administration and Justice Minister Chung Sung-ho may lie in selecting the right people to lead reform — not simply those with a history of opposition to the prosecution. It is not enough to disrupt the status quo. To make lasting change, reformers must act with strategic restraint, appointing leaders who can dismantle entrenched systems without triggering institutional backlash.

In confronting the prosecution, wisdom, not speed, may be the more effective path.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.