Im Eun-jung leaves with 'shameful dark history,' tears at farewell ceremony

Im Eun-jung, chief prosecutor of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors Office, held a farewell ceremony Thursday, one day before the launch of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the new public prosecution offices, as she prepares to move to the agency as a first-grade investigator.

According to legal sources, Im spoke at a private farewell ceremony at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors Office, saying she was leaving behind "the proud name of South Korean prosecutors and investigative officers" with colleagues also moving to the new agency.

"This is a moment of leaving behind deep sorrow and a shameful dark history, and setting out toward a new tomorrow," Im said. "The current situation is a sorrowful outcome brought about by a prosecution service that was a perpetrator of its era."

She added that it was "time to face reality despite the heartache and find a direction and a path forward," and shed tears during her farewell address.

Im, a graduate of the 30th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, previously served as a senior prosecutor heading the major economic crimes investigation units at the Daejeon and Daegu district prosecutors offices. She has been widely regarded as a leading reform-minded figure who has consistently called for internal criticism and institutional reform within the prosecution service.

She will take over as chief of the Gwangju Serious Crimes Investigation Agency when the agency officially launches Friday. Seo Jeong-min, former head of the legal affairs bureau at the Ministry of Justice, will lead the newly reorganized Seoul Eastern District Public Prosecution Office following Im's departure.