Chief Prosecutor Kim Myung-seok… Submits Resignation Letter,
Kim Jin-wook (right), the former head of the High-Ranking Officials’ Crimes Investigation Office, leaves the government building in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province on January 19 after a ceremony. Park Simon Reporter,
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, “An incumbent chief prosecutor of the High-Ranking Officials’ Crimes Investigation Office who wrote a media column criticizing the public scrutiny agency has recently been subject to a ‘disciplinary action.'”,
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, ‘According to the official gazette on the 8th, the agency disciplined Kim Myung-seok, the head prosecutor of the Human Rights Investigation Policy Bureau, on the 3rd. The disciplinary reasons include the fact that he criticized agency members in the media and revealed ongoing cases publicly in November last year, as well as making disrespectful and insulting remarks to the head prosecutors of the agency in February this year.’,
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, ‘Prosecutor Kim wrote a column titled “Political Bias and Personnel Management” in a legal newspaper in November last year, directly criticizing the head office of the agency, including former deputy head Yeun-guk. He also exposed that they made conclusions in advance about specific cases that were not yet under investigation and adjusted their behaviors accordingly. As a result, the agency initiated an inspection because Kim did not report the content of his column in advance, violating the “Ethical Standards for Agency Prosecutors.” Yeun even filed a lawsuit against him, accusing him of defamation, among other charges, which led to internal conflicts.’,
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, “It is reported that the agency considered Kim’s writings and remarks to be ‘acts that undermine the dignity and reputation of agency prosecutors’ through the disciplinary committee, leading to the decision of disciplinary action. Disciplinary actions under the agency law are categorized as △dismissal △suspension △demotion △disciplinary action, with disciplinary action being the lightest form of punishment.”,
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, ‘Earlier, Prosecutor Kim submitted a resignation letter at the end of May, but it has not been processed yet due to ongoing disciplinary procedures. Once the resignation process is completed soon, two out of the six positions of head prosecutors in the agency will be vacant. Currently, the agency is in the process of recruiting one head prosecutor to fill the vacancy left by former head prosecutor Kim Seon-gyu, and there are plans to proceed with additional recruitment for Kim’s replacement as well.’,
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