Some 500 prosecutors from around the world gathered in Seoul Sunday to attend the 16th annual International Association of Prosecutors (IAP) Conference.
The conference will be followed by another meeting of prosecutors general, and this is the first time for the two international prosecutors’ gatherings to be hosted by the same country.
The IAP conference will be held at the Lotte Hotel in central Seoul through Wednesday, with prosecutors from 100 countries participating.
Under the theme “Prosecution as a Public Service,” they will discuss prosecutors’ roles and responsibilities, ways to strengthen their capacities, and the relationship between prosecutors and the public.
At the opening ceremony Monday, IAP President James Hamilton and Korean Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik will deliver congratulatory speeches. Song Sang-hyun, president of the International Criminal Court, will deliver the keynote speech.
After the opening ceremony, 13 prosecutors from around the world will receive “This Year’s Prosecutor” award, which is given to those who contributed greatly to rooting out crime and improving international cooperation between prosecutors.
Following the conference, the fourth World Summit of Prosecutors General, Attorneys General and Chief Prosecutors will be held in southern Seoul from June 29 to July 1.
The IAP was established in 1995 at the United Nations office in Vienna, Austria, to become the first and only world organization of prosecutors.
The first general meeting was held in 1996 in Budapest, Hungary. The upcoming conference is to address the growing need for international cooperation between prosecutors amid the rapid increase of transnational crimes, such as drug trafficking, money laundering and fraud. The IAP now has 130 organizational members from over 90 different jurisdictions.