Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung retired on the 2nd. Shim is the 16th prosecutor general to resign mid-term since the introduction of the prosecutor general term system (2 years) in 1988. Only 9 have served full terms.
The reasons past prosecutors general have resigned mid-term are varied. There are cases where resignations were submitted due to conflicts with the government or as a sign of opposition to government-initiated policies. There are also prosecutors general who left amidst accountability for the corrupt actions of their family members or prosecutors.
◇ There have been prosecutors general who resigned a month before their term ended over the adjustment of investigative rights between the police and prosecutors.
In his retirement speech that day, Shim said, "Going beyond correcting the wrongs of the prosecution to abolishing its essential and normal role for the protection of the people's basic rights is not the right path for the people and the country." He continued, "Reforming the criminal justice system is an issue directly related to the people's basic rights concerning life, body, and property" and noted, "It requires sufficient time and deep discussion."
This is interpreted as him expressing opposition to the prosecution reform being pushed by the Lee Jae-myung administration. The government is promoting a reform that divides the prosecution into the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency (SCIA) responsible for investigations, the prosecution agency responsible for indictments, and the National Police Agency Commission which coordinates investigative matters.
Like Shim, there have been prosecutors general who resigned in opposition to government-promoted policies. Kim Jun-kyu, the 37th prosecutor general during the Lee Myung-bak administration, resigned a little over a month before his term expired in protest of a police-investigation adjustment plan that did not reflect the prosecution's stance. At the time, the National Assembly was pushing a revision of the Criminal Procedure Act that allowed specific matters concerning the prosecution's leadership over police investigations to be set by presidential decree, ultimately passing this proposal. The prosecution held the position that it should be established by the Ministry of Justice.
The successor, former prosecutor general Han Sang-dae, resigned after pushing for the dissolution of the Supreme Prosecutor's Office Special Investigation Unit due to internal backlash from the prosecution. Amid rising calls for prosecution reform following bribery and sexual misconduct incidents involving serving prosecutors, former Prosecutor General Han faced internal resistance while promoting a self-initiated prosecution reform plan that included the dissolution of the Supreme Prosecutor's Office Special Investigation Unit.
◇ Resigned after being implicated in the ‘Lee Yong-ho Gate’ scandal... allegations of an extramarital child as well.
There have been prosecutors general whose resignations were prompted by scandals involving themselves or their families. During the Kim Dae-jung administration, former Prosecutor General Shin Seung-nam resigned after his brother was implicated in the ‘Lee Yong-ho Gate’ scandal. The ‘Lee Yong-ho Gate’ is a power-related corruption case suspected of involving influential figures in politics and the judiciary, as well as high-ranking officials in the prosecution in stock price manipulation. Former Prosecutor General Shin was indicted without detention for leaking investigation information related to the Lee Yong-ho Gate and was ultimately sentenced to one year in prison with a two-year probation in 2007.
During the Park Geun-hye administration, former Prosecutor General Chae Dong-wook resigned after the ‘extramarital child allegations’ surfaced. At the time, Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn initiated a probe into the allegations, and former Prosecutor General Chae voluntarily resigned.
Former Prosecutor General Yoon Suk-yeol resigned after coming into conflict with the government from the investigation of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk to the investigation of the Wolseong Unit 1.