A Boomerang of Abolishing the Prosecution… 40 Dispatched Prosecutors for the Kim Keon-hee Special Counsel Demand "Return After Investigation"

Statement of Position to Special Counsel Min Joong-ki… "The Integration of Investigation, Prosecution, and Trial Representation in Special Counsel Work is Contradictory"

Request for "Official Statement on the Role of Prosecutors in Major Crime Investigations and the Necessity of Direct Investigations"

Special Counsel Team: "We Will Continue the Investigation Without Faltering… We Will Discuss Ways to Ensure Investigating Prosecutors Also Handle Prosecution and Trial Representation"

Kim Keon-hee Special Counsel Team Hanging Ceremony (Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Seo Dae-yeon = Special Counsel Min Joong-ki, who is investigating various allegations involving Kim Keon-hee, the spouse of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, speaks after the hanging ceremony in front of his office at the KT Gwanghwamun Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 2nd.

From left: Assistant Special Counsels Park Sang-jin and Moon Hong-ju, Special Counsel Min Joong-ki, Assistant Special Counsels Kim Hyung-keun and Oh Jung-hee, and Head of Support Division Hong Ji-hang. July 2, 2025. [Joint Coverage] dwise@yna.co.kr

All 40 prosecutors dispatched to the special counsel team led by Min Joong-ki, which is investigating allegations related to Kim Keon-hee, requested on the 30th to be returned to their original prosecutor's offices once the ongoing cases are concluded.

The request implies that once the special counsel's investigation is over and the main suspects are indicted, the prosecutors do not wish to handle the subsequent trial representation and instead want to return to their home offices. This is interpreted as a backlash against the amendment of the Government Organization Act, which centers on the abolition of the Prosecutors' Office and the separation of investigation and prosecution.

The special counsel team announced that while it would continue the ongoing investigation without wavering, it would discuss specific measures to ensure that investigating prosecutors remain involved in prosecution and trial representation, citing the necessity of such continuity for successful trial outcomes.

According to legal circles, the 40 dispatched prosecutors submitted a statement containing these views to Special Counsel Min Joong-ki on this day.

They stated, "With the recent amendment of the Government Organization Act under the pretext of separating investigation and prosecution, the Prosecutors' Office has been dismantled, and prosecutors have lost their authority to conduct direct investigations into major crimes." They added, "In a situation where guidelines prohibiting investigating prosecutors from conducting trial representation are being implemented, we are in a state of confusion regarding whether it is right for us to continue performing special counsel duties that combine investigation, prosecution, and trial representation in a contradictory manner."

Furthermore, they requested, "We ask that you, the Special Counsel, officially express your position through media briefings or other channels regarding the role of prosecutors in investigating major crimes, as well as the necessity for prosecutors to maintain the ability to directly investigate, prosecute, and represent the state in trials, as confirmed during the special counsel's investigation process so far."

They wrote, "We have worked day and night with a sense of duty, committed to digging for the objective truth and resolving social conflicts by focusing on high-profile social issues during our dispatch period." They added, "We request that you facilitate our return to the front lines once the ongoing cases are concluded as soon as possible, so that we may assist in processing the backlog of surging public livelihood cases."

Min Joong-ki Special Counsel Team [Yonhap News Archive Photo. Resale and DB Prohibition]

Regarding this, the special counsel team expressed empathy for the dispatched prosecutors' sentiments following the amendment of the Government Organization Act, while emphasizing the importance of concluding the ongoing investigation without any disruption. They also reaffirmed their position that it is necessary for investigating prosecutors to handle prosecution and trial representation to ensure successful outcomes.

Assistant Special Counsel Kim Hyung-keun, a former prosecutor, stated during a regular briefing that afternoon, "The members of the special counsel team, including the dispatched prosecutors, have been working with great dedication day and night. It is true that since the Government Organization Act amendment passed in the National Assembly, the prosecutors have been in a state of great confusion," adding, "Their sentiments are understandable."

Nonetheless, he emphasized, "We will consolidate the will and capabilities of our special counsel members, including the dispatched prosecutors, to ensure the ongoing investigation is concluded without faltering."

He further noted, "Given the intent and content of the Special Counsel Act and the gravity of the matter, we must succeed not only in investigation and prosecution but also in trial representation. It appears necessary for the prosecutors who conducted the investigation to be involved in the prosecution and trial representation phases. We will determine specific measures through sufficient discussion."

Assistant Special Counsel Kim explained that this policy was derived after discussions between the assistant special counsels and each investigation team leader regarding the direction of organizational operations. However, he stated that it is a general principle to allow any member—regardless of whether they are a prosecutor, special investigator, or dispatched civil servant—to return to their original posts if they wish.

It is understood that only one dispatched prosecutor has returned to their original office since the launch of the Kim Keon-hee special counsel team. That individual reportedly returned for reasons unrelated to the amendment of the Government Organization Act. Yonhap News

burning@yna.co.kr

(End)