The Ministry of Justice appointed Lee Jung-hyun, head of the Suwon High Prosecutors' Office, as deputy prosecutor general at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, ahead of the launch of the new Public Prosecution Office on Oct. 2. The move comes two months after former deputy prosecutor general Koo Ja-hyun stepped down.
The ministry said on the 22nd that Lee would take the post. A ministry official said the appointment was intended "to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of the deputy prosecutor general and to ensure preparations for the launch of the Public Prosecution Office proceed without disruption."
Lee was born in Naju, Jeollanam-do (South Jeolla Province), and graduated from Naju Yeongsanpo Commercial High School and Korea University's law school. He began his career as a prosecutor in 1998 and has served as head of the inspection division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, inspection officer at the Ministry of Justice, deputy chief of the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office, first deputy chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and head of the public investigation department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. While serving as first deputy chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in 2020, he oversaw the investigation into alleged collusion between a Channel A reporter and a prosecutor. He later appeared as a witness in a lawsuit seeking to overturn disciplinary action against then-Prosecutor General Yoon Suk-yeol, testifying that Yoon had delayed and obstructed the investigation, which put the two at odds.
After the Yoon administration took office, Lee was assigned as a research fellow at the Legal Research and Training Institute, a post widely regarded as a sidelined position. He was named head of the Suwon High Prosecutors' Office in the prosecution reshuffle carried out by the current administration in November last year.
The appointment comes two months after Koo's resignation. It is seen as intended to provide leadership during the final period of the Prosecution Service before it is abolished and replaced by the Public Prosecution Office on Oct. 2. Koo announced his resignation in July after the National Assembly passed a revision to the Criminal Procedure Act that fully abolishes prosecutors' authority to conduct supplementary investigations, saying he found the development "regrettable and disheartening."
