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President Lee slams prosecutors for abusing right to appeal acquittals

Published: 30 Sep. 2025, 19:27 Updated: 30 Sep. 2025, 19:29

President Lee Jae Myung speaks during the 44th Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Sept. 30. [YONHAP]

President Lee Jae Myung accused prosecutors of abusing their right to appeal acquittals, saying the practice devastates innocent defendants and wastes public resources, as he urged Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho to push for systemic reform.

At a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Lee questioned Jung on why prosecutors continue to appeal even after lower courts return not-guilty verdicts.

“Prosecutors indict cases that shouldn’t go to trial, and when the court acquits, they appeal and appeal again, tormenting the people,” Lee said. “Why is this being allowed?”

Lee criticized prosecutors’ repeated challenges, sketching out a scenario in which a defendant is acquitted in the first and second trials but must still spend large sums of money fighting an appeal in the Supreme Court.

“In the end, the defendants are ruined even though the acquittal is upheld. Didn’t former President Yoon Suk Yeol himself once say this? It’s still happening now,” he said.

The president stressed the principle of the presumption of innocence.

“If there is doubt, it should favor the defendant. If you wonder, ‘Is this person guilty or innocent?’ then [the verdict should be] not guilty,” Lee said. Minister Jung agreed, calling it “a basic principle of court rulings.”

“The same should apply to prosecutors,” Lee continued. “If there is doubt, don’t indict.” Jung acknowledged, “Prosecutors have operated in the opposite way.”

When Lee asked how often acquittals in the first trial are overturned in higher courts, Jung replied that about 5 percent are overturned in appellate courts and 1.7 percent in the Supreme Court.

“That means 98.3 percent endure costs and suffering just to be acquitted,” Lee said.

Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho answers President Lee Jae Myung’s question during the 44th Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Sept. 30. [YONHAP]

Jung said prosecutors’ abuse of appeals has decreased recently and noted he reviews cases daily. But Lee warned that “if the minister changes, the system could change.”

Jung replied that he plans to institutionalize reforms, saying, “We should revise the Criminal Procedure Act to prohibit appeals and further appeals except in cases of clear legal problems or dire, exceptional circumstances.” He added that the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office could first amend its internal rules to limit the number of appeals.

During the exchange, Lee accused prosecutors of selectively targeting opponents while protecting allies. “If they dislike you, they indict you to cause pain; if you’re on their side, they let you go even when your crime is clear,” he said.

Some in the ruling Democratic Party (DP) suggested the remarks signal sweeping criminal justice reform linked to the plan to abolish the prosecution service. But presidential spokesperson Kim Nam-joon said in a briefing that the comments reflected “the president’s long-held philosophy” rather than any specific case.

Lee and Jung also cited U.S. legal principles, noting that prosecutors there cannot appeal acquittals under the Fifth Amendment’s double jeopardy clause.

Within the presidential office, aides reportedly raised the issue of reform early in the administration, arguing that prosecutors’ “automatic appeals” waste excessive resources. Some ruling-party insiders suggested that reforms could go as far as allowing only extraordinary appeals to the Supreme Court in cases of misapplied law or statutory changes, while barring appeals altogether in acquittal cases.

Legal experts, however, expressed caution.

“Introducing a double jeopardy principle would be a major change comparable to separating investigation and prosecution completely,” said lawyer Yang Hong-seok of law firm YiGong Lawyers. “Korea’s civil law system is fundamentally different from the United States, so adopting such a principle would require broad institutional adjustments.”

The People Power Party (PPP) denounced Lee’s push as an attempt to shield himself from legal charges.

"In President Lee’s election law case, he was acquitted in the appeals court but found guilty in the Supreme Court. Now he’s trying to block appeals altogether to protect himself,” PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Also at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, lawmakers passed revisions to the Government Organization Act, including the abolition of the prosecution service after a one-year grace period, to be replaced by a new office for indictments under the Ministry of Justice and transferring all investigative authority to a new Serious Crimes Investigation Agency.

Korea Communications Commission chairperson Lee Jin-sook delivers a statement at the government complex in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, on Sept. 29. [YONHAP]

Other measures included replacing the Korea Communications Commission with a new commission overseeing the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors, effectively removing incumbent chairperson Lee Jin-sook.

A revision to a law splitting the Ministry of Economy and Finance into two separate entities — the Ministry of Finance and Economy, and the Ministry of Planning and Budget — was passed and is set to take effect on Jan. 2, 2026. Restructuring is also planned for the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, as well as the Ministry of Environment, the latter of which will turn into the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment.

A revision to the National Assembly Act on Testimony and Appraisal was also passed, allowing witnesses who commit perjury before parliamentary committees to be prosecuted even after the session ends. All bills approved will be promulgated on Wednesday and take effect immediately.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY YOON JI-WON [[email protected]]