Ministry of Justice's Inspection Committee Recommends Prosecutor Kim Sang-min's Dismissal of 'Running for General Election'

The Ministry of Justice's inspection committee held a publishing ceremony as an incumbent prosecutor and recommended the dismissal of Kim Sang-min (35th Judicial Research and Training Institute) of the Daejeon High Prosecutor's Office, who expressed his intention to run for the general election.

According to the legal community on the 30th, the Ministry of Justice's inspection committee, which consists of outsiders, recently held a meeting and discussed the level of disciplinary action against prosecutor Kim and prosecutor Park Dae-beom (33rd) of the Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office.

Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok earlier requested a suspension of prosecutor Kim on the 12th, saying he violated his obligation to be politically neutral, but the inspection committee decided that the dismissal, which is two levels higher than this, was necessary.

The inspection committee's decision has the effect of recommendations to the Minister of Justice, who is in charge of legal administration, including prosecution personnel.

Prosecutor disciplinary action is divided into five stages: reprimand, salary reduction, suspension, dismissal, and dismissal. If a judge or prosecutor is dismissed due to disciplinary action, he cannot become a lawyer for three years.

The Ministry of Justice's inspection committee is also said to have recommended a lower warning to the prosecutor general for Park Dae-beom (33rd term), the Gwangju High Prosecutor's Office, who had been charged with heavy punishment.

Prosecutor Park was appointed as the Gwangju Supreme Prosecutors' Office at the Masan branch of the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office due to allegations that he met with political figures and sought to run for the general election. Since then, he has expressed his intention to reflect on inappropriate behavior and is believed to have taken into consideration the fact that he continues to work.

The final punishment and level of punishment for the two prosecutors, who served as senior prosecutors and branch chiefs respectively and were reprimanded as high-ranking prosecutors, will be determined later by the prosecutor's disciplinary committee headed by the Minister of Justice.

Earlier, it was controversial that prosecutor Kim sent a text message to residents of his hometown during Chuseok last September, when he was serving as the 9th head of the criminal division at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.

Prosecutor Kim explained that he did not send the text message for political purposes, but on the same day that the Supreme Prosecutors' Office recommended a "warning" against the prosecutor's office, he announced his intention to run for the general election to the media. He also announced a publication anniversary event through SNS.

Prosecutor Kim joined the People's Power on the 3rd and registered as a preliminary candidate for the National Assembly in Uichang-gu, Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do, on the 9th.

Date: 2024-01-30

Reporter: 서화목