On the 20th, the Special Prosecutor for the insurrection investigation of 12·3, Jo Eun-seok, announced that he has confirmed six special prosecutor deputies who will lead the investigation. Park Eok-su (29th Judicial Research and Training Institute), Park Ji-young (29th), Lee Yun-je (29th), Kim Hyung-soo (30th), Park Tae-ho (32nd), and Jang Woo-sung (34th) have been appointed as special prosecutor deputies.
On that day, Jo noted in a notice sent to the press corps, “I recommended the appointment of the special prosecutor deputies reflecting the recommendation of the Korean Bar Association and also proposed individuals from police backgrounds with exceptional investigative and management skills.” He added, “After internal discussions, the special prosecutor deputies have decided that Park Ji-young will handle public relations duties.”
Among them, Park Eok-su and Kim Hyung-soo are individuals recommended by the Korean Bar Association. Deputy Prosecutor Park is from Gurye, South Jeolla Province, and graduated from Gwangju Seoksan High School and Korea University. After obtaining a master’s degree in constitutional law from the same university’s graduate school, he completed the doctoral program. He started his career as a prosecutor at the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office in 2003 and has served as head prosecutor at the Busan District Prosecutors' Office, director of the Public Prosecution Department at the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office, chief prosecutor at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, and human rights policy officer at the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office.
Deputy Prosecutor Kim Hyung-soo was born in Jangheung, South Jeolla Province, and graduated from Gwangju High School and Sungkyunkwan University Law School. He began his career as a prosecutor at the Gunsan Branch of the Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office. He has held positions as deputy chief prosecutor at the Policy Planning Division of the Ministry of Justice, head of the Criminal Division 1 at the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office, chief of the Criminal Division 2 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, and deputy chief prosecutor at the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office.
Deputy Prosecutor Park Ji-young is an individual directly recommended by Jo. After graduating from Yonsei University, Deputy Prosecutor Park began her career at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. She has served as head of the Victims' Human Rights Division at the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office, head of the General Affairs Division and Head of the Criminal Division 6 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, head of the Yeoju Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors‘ Office, head of the Prosecutorial Reform Promotion Team at the Supreme Public Prosecutors’ Office, and deputy chief prosecutor at the Daejeon and Chuncheon District Prosecutors' Offices. In 2023, she joined BAE, KIM & LEE LLC.
Deputy Prosecutor Lee Yun-je was previously recommended by the Democratic Party of Korea as a candidate for the special prosecutor for the Busan marine accident. This deputy prosecutor is from Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, and graduated from Da-il High School and the Department of Public Law at Seoul National University. He started his career as a prosecutor in 2000 at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office. He served as a commissioner on the Committee for Human Rights and Prosecutorial Reform during the Moon Jae-in administration. Since 2021, he has been a professor at Myongji University’s Law School.
Deputy Prosecutor Kim Hyung-soo is from Jangheung, South Jeolla Province, and graduated from Gwangju High School and Sungkyunkwan University Law School. In 2004, he started as a prosecutor at the Gunsan Branch of the Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office and has served as head of Criminal Division 1 at the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office, chief of the Criminal Division 6 and Criminal Division 2 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, deputy chief prosecutor at the Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office and Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office, as well as head of the Dongbu Branch of the Busan District Prosecutors' Office. Since last year, he has been working as a lawyer at NAMSAN (Lim, Chung & Suh).
Deputy Prosecutor Park Tae-ho is from Cheongdo, North Gyeongsang Province, and graduated from Daegu Kyungsin High School and the Department of Economics at Seoul National University. After passing the 42nd bar exam, he began as a prosecutor at the Cheonan Branch of the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office, moving on to serve as head of Criminal Division 3 at the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office, head of Criminal Division 5 at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, and head of Criminal Division 9 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. He retired after serving as the Human Rights Officer at the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office in 2022. Since December 2023, he has been working as a lawyer at Kim & Chang.
Deputy Prosecutor Jang Woo-sung is the only police officer among the six special prosecutor deputies. He is from Seoul and graduated from Gaepo High School and the Department of Philosophy at Hanyang University. After majoring in labor law at the Graduate School of Korea University, he began his career in the police in 2005. He has held positions as head of investigations at the Daegu Dalseo Police Station and the Seoul Songpa Police Station, chief of the Criminal Investigation Division at the Seoul Hyehwa Police Station, head of the Economic Crime Investigation Unit at the Seoul Regional Police Agency, head of the Intelligent Division at the Seoul Regional Police Agency’s Gang and Violence Division, and head of the Cyber Investigation Division at the Korean National Police Agency. He has been working as a lawyer at BAE, KIM & LEE LLC since 2020.