Candidates for top prosecutor picked

From left, So Byung-chul, Mun Moo-il, Oh Se-in and Cho Hee-jin / Yonhap

By Jung Min-ho

Four current and former prosecutors have been nominated to be the country’s next top prosecutor, the Ministry of Justice said Monday.

According to the ministry, a special committee narrowed the list down to four candidates ― So Byung-chul, Mun Moo-il, Oh Se-in and Cho Hee-jin ― “after examining their experience, ability, ethics and leadership.”

The ministry will pick one of the candidates through its own evaluation and recommend the person to President Moon Jae-in.

With the minister post still vacant, Vice Minister Lee Geun-ro will likely perform the job. Given that President Moon pledged to reform the prosecution, the candidates’ willingness to keep in line with his policy will likely be a major evaluation factor.

Once Moon approves the ministry’s recommendation, the National Assembly has to hold a confirmation hearing within 20 days.

Among the candidates, So started his career earliest in 1986. After leaving the prosecution in 2013, he has been working for the Agricultural Cooperative University as a professor.

Mun is the head of the Busan High Prosecutors’ Office. Throughout his 30-year career, he has focused mainly on investigating high-profile corruption cases, including the Sung Wan-jong scandal which eventually forced former Prime Minister Lee Wan Koo to step down.

Oh, head of the Gwangju High Prosecutors’ Office, is known for having more experience in investigating North Korea-related cases than other candidates.

Cho, head of the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors’ Office, is one of the few women serving in high-ranking positions in the prosecution.

“The acting minister will make the decision promptly,” the ministry said in a statement.

The most critical task of the next prosecutor general will be regaining public trust by making the prosecution a more transparent, politically-independent institution.

If Park Sang-ki, professor at Yonsei University’s law school, survives a confirmation hearing at the National Assembly, the next prosecutor general is expected to embark on the mission immediately.

In his columns in the past, Park pointed out that the current system, in which prosecutors can intervene and direct police investigations, is problematic and needs a major reform.

To reform the prosecution, President Moon promised mainly two things. First, he said he will remove all or part of its investigative powers. Also, he said he will set up an independent organization that is empowered to investigate and indict high-ranking government officials, including senior prosecutors.