South Korea's Ministry of Justice has begun the process of selecting the current administration's first prosecutor general, who will also serve as the inaugural head of the newly created Public Prosecution Service. The move comes one year and three months after former Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung stepped down in July last year.
The ministry said on the 13th that it had formed a Prosecutor General Candidate Recommendation Committee to nominate the first prosecutor general of the Public Prosecution Service. Former Prosecutor General Moon Moo-il will chair the panel.
Although the Supreme Prosecutors' Office was abolished on the 2nd, the title of prosecutor general remains in place as the head of the new agency. The duties of the prosecutor general and prosecutors are specified in the Constitution, so removing the title would require a constitutional amendment.
The committee will accept public nominations for candidates from the 14th through the 21st of this month. Taking the nominations into account, the ministry will then present to the committee the individuals it considers suitable for recommendation as prosecutor general. The committee will review whether those under consideration are qualified for the post and recommend at least three candidates to the justice minister, a role currently filled by Vice Minister Lee Jin-soo in an acting capacity. The minister will respect the committee's recommendation and nominate one of them to the president.
The post of prosecutor general has been vacant since Shim, appointed under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, left office in July last year. Noh Man-seok and Koo Ja-hyun, former deputy chiefs of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office — now the Public Prosecution Service — served as acting head, and Deputy Chief Lee Jung-hyun currently holds the acting role. Within and outside the prosecution, Lee and Park Chul-woo, head of the Seoul Central District Public Prosecution Service, are mentioned as potential candidates for the next prosecutor general.