Prosecutor headcount set to fall to 2005 levels as new prosecution office launches

Concerns grow over weakened oversight of investigative agencies

Acting Prosecutor General Lee Jung-hyun, seen as pro-government, leaves door open on dropping charges against President Lee

Lee Eung-cheol, director general of the Ministry of Justice's prosecution bureau (center), briefs reporters on the organizational structure of the new Public Prosecution Service at the ministry's office in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, on Tuesday. At right is Ha In-ho, administrative support director of the Prosecution Reform Task Force; at left is Kim Min-cheol, head of the legal and judicial organization division at the Ministry of Interior and Safety. [Yonhap]

The Prosecution Service will be abolished Friday and replaced by a new Public Prosecution Service responsible for filing and maintaining criminal charges. As the new agency takes shape alongside the newly created Serious Crimes Investigation Agency — which will handle major criminal investigations — concerns are mounting that a reduction in the prosecutor headcount will leave significant gaps in the criminal justice system. With nine days until the launch, Acting Prosecutor General Lee Jung-hyun, who also serves as deputy prosecutor general of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, has emphasized the need for a smooth transition, but analysts say the road ahead will not be easy.

According to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, the authorized number of prosecutors stood at 1,942 in 2014 before rising to 2,292, a level that has remained unchanged until recently. The ratio of judges to prosecutors was 64.0 percent as of last year, and staffing shortages in the prosecution process are already widespread.

The new Public Prosecution Service is set to operate with a smaller prosecutor roster. The Ministry of Justice said Tuesday that the Cabinet approved both an amendment to the enforcement decree of the Prosecutor Quota Act and the organizational regulations governing the new agency and its affiliated bodies. The ministry also said it would pursue a revision to the Prosecutor Quota Act to formally reduce the authorized headcount — from the current 2,292 to roughly 80 to 85 percent of that figure. The proposed level would be comparable to the 1,807 authorized in 2005, prompting criticism that the reform turns the clock back 20 years.

Investigative staff at the prosecution are also facing deep cuts. Of the current 2,986 investigators, about 2,048 positions — roughly 70 percent — will be eliminated, with the remaining 938 reclassified as criminal justice administrative officers. General administrative staff handling clerical work, IT, security, driving and facility management will be cut by about 30 percent, from 8,415 to 5,890. While the loss of investigative authority accounts for much of the reduction, concerns remain that core functions — including decisions on whether to bring charges, maintaining prosecutions and recovering criminal proceeds — will also be affected.

Those concerns are sharpened by a string of recent controversies over shoddy police investigations, including the Gwangju case involving detective Jang Yun-gi and a case in Jeju in which a missing woman's case was falsely closed. With oversight of investigative agencies more critical than ever, critics warn that shrinking both the authority and the workforce of the new prosecution body could impair its ability to function at all.

Lee Jung-hyun, newly appointed deputy prosecutor general of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and acting prosecutor general, arrives for work at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday. [Yonhap]

The new Public Prosecution Service is set to launch under difficult circumstances, with Deputy Prosecutor General Lee Jung-hyun expected to lead it as acting prosecutor general for now. On Tuesday, Lee sent an email to all staff saying, "I write briefly, feeling as though I am standing at the edge of a precipice. If we work together with one mind, our essential nature will never change."

Within the prosecution, however, the reaction to Lee's appointment has been cool. He is widely regarded in legal circles as aligned with the ruling camp. While serving as chief of the Suwon High Prosecutors' Office, Lee told a parliamentary investigation hearing in April that the investigation into SBW's alleged transfer of funds to North Korea — conducted under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration — was "a deeply flawed method of investigation."

Some observers see Lee's appointment as a step toward dropping the criminal charges against President Lee Jae Myung. On Wednesday, his first day at work, Lee declined to rule out that possibility when asked about withdrawing the charges, saying he would "wait and see the results of the fact-finding investigation" by the prosecution's human rights and future committee. That committee's fact-finding team is currently examining 19 cases of alleged prosecutorial abuse, including eight cases involving President Lee.

On the question of staffing cuts, Lee signaled his intention to negotiate with the Ministry of Justice. "When I looked into the workload in my jurisdiction as Suwon High Prosecutors' Office chief, individual prosecutors' offices had 600 to 700 pending cases — a situation where actual working capacity is considerably strained," he said. "I think we will need to work this out carefully with the Ministry of Justice."

Seoul High Prosecutors' Office prosecutor Kong Bong-suk posted on social media Wednesday, writing: "Saying you need to wait for the fact-finding results — does that mean you will drop the charges if the team concludes there were problems with the investigation process? If candidates for the head of the new prosecution service have already been put forward, you can hardly afford to disappoint their expectations."

bell@heraldcorp.com