Regarding the '12.3 emergency martial law' incident, Special Prosecutor Jo Eun-seok (19th Judicial Research and Training Institute) will investigate the insurrection charges against former President Yoon Suk-yeol and said on the 13th, 'I will perform the duties of the special prosecutor solely in accordance with investigative logic, maintaining a writing attitude.'
President Lee Jae-myung appointed Special Prosecutor Jo Eun-seok, former Seoul Central District Court Chief Min Jung-ki, and former Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee Myung-hyun to investigate insurrection, Kim Keon-hee, and the deceased Marine, around 11:09 p.m. the previous day. Earlier, the Democratic Party of Korea and the Rebuilding Korea Party each recommended three candidates for the special prosecutor on the same day.
Special Prosecutor Jo noted, 'I will do my utmost to ensure that the hard work of the National Investigation Headquarters, the CIO, and the prosecution is not in vain, and I will carefully examine the situation with a writing attitude while performing the duties of the special prosecutor solely in accordance with investigative logic.'
Born in 1965 in Jangseong, Jeollanam-do, Special Prosecutor Jo graduated from Gwangdeok High School and Korea University Law School and passed the 29th bar exam. He began his career as a prosecutor at the Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office in 1993 and also served as spokesperson for the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office. In 2014, during the Park Geun-hye administration, he served as the Chief of the Criminal Division of the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office and led the investigation into allegations of poor rescue operations by the Coast Guard during the Sewol ferry disaster. He insisted that charges of professional negligence leading to death should be applied against the captain of the Coast Guard vessel 123, leading to conflicts with the Blue House and Ministry of Justice, resulting in his reassignment to the Judicial Research and Training Institute.
He was appointed as the Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office during the Moon Jae-in administration. After former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is a junior from the 4th Judicial Research and Training Institute, became the Prosecutor General, Jo resigned, ending his tenure as the President of the Legal Training Institute. Four months before former President Moon's term ended, he appointed Jo as an auditor for the Board of Audit and Inspection for a four-year term. In 2023, he had conflicts with Auditor Choi Jae-hae over the public disclosure of the audit report by former Chairperson Jeon Hyun-hee of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.