Koo Ja-hyun says legislation was pushed through without adequate review; urges remaining prosecutors to stay calm, document problems and resist political pressure

Acting Prosecutor General Koo Ja-hyun. [Yonhap]
Acting Prosecutor General Koo Ja-hyun. [Yonhap]

Koo Ja-hyun, who had submitted his resignation in protest over the planned abolition of prosecutors' investigative powers, stepped down Tuesday as acting prosecutor general, delivering a parting broadside against the reform he said had "undermined the very foundation of the prosecutorial system."

In a farewell address posted on the prosecutors' internal network, Koo said legislation stripping prosecutors of the right to conduct direct and supplementary investigations had been "pushed through without sufficient review of what it means to block prosecutors from directly examining facts and evidence in pursuit of the truth."

He said concerns had poured in from across society throughout the reform process — from the media, the legal community, academia and women's organizations alike. "I deeply sympathized with the gravity of those concerns and did my best, but there were moments when my best was not enough," he said.

Koo urged the prosecutors who remain to respond to the sweeping institutional changes with composure rather than emotion. "Even if the newly introduced system has flaws, I ask you to look at the situation with a calm eye rather than reacting emotionally," he said. "Carry out your respective roles faithfully, and when side effects emerge within the system, make them public, put them on the record, and push swiftly for corrective procedures."

On the identity of prosecutors under the incoming Public Prosecution Service, he said their role as judicial officers would be "far more emphasized and become the core value of the work." He called on colleagues to stand firm against political pressure and, as they always have, make judgments and decisions based solely on the law and principle.

Koo submitted his resignation after the National Assembly passed an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act on July 31 abolishing prosecutors' direct and supplementary investigative powers. His resignation was accepted Tuesday — roughly two months later and 10 days before the Public Prosecution Service is set to open on Oct. 2.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice moved to fill the leadership vacuum left by Koo's departure, transferring Suwon High Prosecutors' Office chief Lee Jeong-hyeon to the post of deputy prosecutor general effective Wednesday. With the prosecutor general's seat remaining vacant, Lee will take over as acting prosecutor general and lead the operational transition to the new Public Prosecution Service.


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