South Korea’s incumbent prosecutors, including chief prosecutors, expressed strong opposition on July 3 to the Democratic Party of Korea’s impeachment motion against Prosecutors Park Sang-yong, Uhm Hee-jun, Kang Baek-shin, and Kim Young-cheol, initiated on July 2. Retired prosecutors and legal elders also voiced concerns.
Over 200 critical posts and comments against the Democratic Party’s “prosecutor impeachment” were uploaded to the prosecutors’ internal network (ePros). More than 200 current prosecutors, including around 20 senior prosecutors, participated. Song Kyung-ho, Chief Prosecutor of the Busan High Prosecutors’ Office and formerly of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office overseeing the investigation of former Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, posted a message titled “Impeach Me,” saying, “Do not suspend investigations and trials by impeaching junior prosecutors; impeach me instead.” He supervised Prosecutors Uhm Hee-jun, Kang Baek-shin, and Kim Young-cheol during his tenure as Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.
Lee Chang-soo, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office handling the Daejang-dong case, emphasized, “The misuse of legislative impeachment power must be corrected to prevent such incidents from recurring.” Kim Yoo-cheol, Chief Prosecutor of the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office responsible for the North Korean remittance case, urged, “Let’s remember the essence of this barbaric situation.” Calls for a nationwide prosecutors’ meeting were also made. The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office issued a five-page document rebutting the Democratic Party’s impeachment grounds.
The retired prosecutors’ association declared, “Impeaching prosecutors is a clear violation of the law and a shameless attempt to annihilate the prosecution,” urging the Democratic Party to withdraw the motion.
Legal elders also voiced concerns. Former Prosecutor General Kim Jong-bin said, “Pushing for impeachment due to an investigation into the party leader’s personal crimes destroys the rule of law,” while Huh Young, Chair Professor at Kyung Hee University’s Law School, said, “It directly contradicts the fundamental order of liberal democracy and the principle of separation of powers.”
The main opposition party plans to summon the four impeached prosecutors to the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee for investigation, which includes Representatives Park Kyun-taek and Lee Geon-tae. A legal professional remarked, “It’s absurd that defense lawyers for the accused are investigating the prosecutors.”