86 moved to new investigative agency, 32 transferred to courts

A road sign reading "Prosecutors' Office" remains in place on a street in front of the Daegu Public Prosecution Office on Nov. 2, one month after the launch of the Public Prosecution Office and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency. [Yonhap]
A road sign reading "Prosecutors' Office" remains in place on a street in front of the Daegu Public Prosecution Office on Nov. 2, one month after the launch of the Public Prosecution Office and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency. [Yonhap]

More than 100 prosecutors resigned in the first month after the launch of the Public Prosecution Office.

According to the Ministry of Justice, 125 prosecutors left the service between Oct. 2, when the Public Prosecution Office was established, and Nov. 1.

Of those, 86 (68.8 percent) moved to the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, while 32 (25.6 percent) transferred to the courts.

Broken down by experience, 80 percent of those who departed — 100 prosecutors — had five or more years of service. The remaining 20 percent, or 25 prosecutors, had fewer than five years.

During the same period, 15 prosecutors went on leave of absence. No new appointments were made.

Annual departures had held steady at 70 to 80 through 2018 before jumping to 111 in 2019, then falling back below 100 in subsequent years.

The number surged again to 146 in 2022, when the division of investigative authority between prosecutors and police was restructured, and has exceeded 100 every year since — 145 in 2023 and 132 in 2024.

Last year, the figure reached 175, the highest in a decade.

Voices within and around the Public Prosecution Office have warned that staffing shortages at frontline offices are reaching a serious level.

A Ministry of Justice official said the ministry plans to assign an appropriate number of personnel to each office through next year's regular personnel reshuffle.


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