Acting prosecutor general weighs resignation after Justice Minister Jeong signals exit

Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho has renewed his push to resign, and acting Prosecutor General Koo Ja-hyun is also now visibly weighing a departure, as the Democratic Party of Korea moves to abolish prosecutors' supplementary investigation rights. The party has adopted the measure as official policy and plans to pass a related amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure at a plenary session of the National Assembly on Thursday.

According to legal circles Sunday, Jeong has conveyed his intention to resign to President Lee Jae-myung on multiple occasions through his aides.

He is said to have begun weighing his future as early as the beginning of this year, when the ruling party was divided over legislation to establish a public prosecution office and a serious crimes investigation agency.

Legal observers broadly agree, however, that his resolve to step down has hardened over the past month — after President Lee deferred to the National Assembly on whether to preserve or abolish the supplementary investigation rights.

Some analysts say the Democratic Party's decision to push ahead with abolition as party policy, despite concerns from civil society, also played a role.

Jeong is said to have again expressed his intention to resign at a senior Ministry of Justice meeting held just before the Democratic Party formally adopted abolition as its official stance.

Throughout the prosecution reform process, Jeong has consistently stressed the importance of prosecutors' supplementary investigation authority and the need to refer all cases, arguing that no innocent victims should emerge from the reforms.

But with the Democratic Party refusing to back down from its demand for a full abolition of that authority, the prevailing interpretation is that Jeong has concluded he can be more effective in the National Assembly than as justice minister.

The criminal procedure amendment is set to go through a subcommittee of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Monday before a possible full plenary vote as early as Thursday.

Jeong is expected to formally submit his resignation as the amendment clears the Assembly, passes through a Cabinet meeting and is promulgated.

Acting Prosecutor General Koo is also expected to decide on his future in the course of the amendment's passage.

Should both posts fall vacant simultaneously, there are growing concerns about the government's ability to manage the fallout from the criminal procedure amendment ahead of the planned dissolution of the Prosecution Service in October.