Jeong Yu-mi, a prosecutor at the Daejeon Metropolitan Public Prosecution Office (30th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute), who was effectively demoted from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office prosecutor (chief prosecutor level) to the high prosecutors' level position in December of last year, argued in the appeal trial for the cancellation of the personnel order, saying, "One axis of the criminal justice system has collapsed and my bitter words have become reality," and argued that the Ministry of Justice should apologize for unfair personnel management.
On the 5th, the 7th Administrative Division of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Kwon Soon-hyung) held the first argument hearing for the appeal trial in the suit to cancel the personnel order that Prosecutor Jeong filed against the Ministry of Justice and heard the positions of both sides.
The first trial ruled in June of this year that the personnel disposition should be canceled on the grounds that the Ministry of Justice had abused its personnel discretion, and as the Ministry of Justice disagreed, an appeal hearing was held.
The Ministry of Justice emphasized that the personnel appointment to Prosecutor Jeong Yu-mi was not disciplinary action and argued, "If the personnel appointment to the prosecutor is viewed as disciplinary action or a disadvantageous disposition, a problem arises in which everyone will fight over the personnel appointment just because they do not like the position they are assigned to."
He stated that the personnel appointment of a prosecutor should be maintained, saying that it is a Supreme Court precedent that it is a highly discretionary action and should be respected as long as there is no violation of the law.
Prosecutor Jeong, who appeared in court that day, responded, "I filed this lawsuit not because I was transferred to a research fellow at the Legal Research and Training Institute, but because I was demoted to a prosecutor at the Daegu High Prosecutors' Office, which is the level of a high prosecutor." He added, "The Ministry of Justice is misleading me about the purpose of the lawsuit."
Prosecutor Jeong strongly criticized not only the abolition of the Prosecutor's Office but also the National Assembly's pressure on the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, saying, "One axis of the criminal justice system has completely collapsed."
He said, “An unprecedented situation has occurred where the prosecution was disbanded overnight, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was summoned to the National Assembly, insulted, and intimidated by a government investigation and impeachment.”
He said, "Last year, I posted an article saying, 'Reforms that start with hostility cannot succeed.' Unfortunately, I am seeing a situation where the bitter words are becoming reality. The defendant should acknowledge that my warning was correct and apologize, but he is justifying the demotion by using extremely superficial expressions in my article as an excuse."
The Ministry of Justice countered, saying, "All of the posts posted by the plaintiff as soon as he was appointed were insulting to the prosecution's leadership and had many potential violations of the Information and Communications Network Act," and added, "How can we not make a personnel appointment when he is not concentrating on his work and only posting on E-Pros?"
The court concluded the argument on this day and decided to sentence at 2 p.m. on the 3rd of next month.
Prosecutor Jeong was transferred from a high-ranking official at the Prosecutors' Office (formerly the Public Prosecution Service) to a prosecutor at the Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office in December last year, when he was a research fellow at the Legal Research and Training Institute. He was effectively demoted from the position of Supreme Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor) to the position of High Prosecutors' Office. Inside and outside the legal community, there was an assessment that this was a disciplinary measure.
Accordingly, Prosecutor Jeong filed a lawsuit against the Minister of Justice to cancel the personnel order the day after the personnel announcement. The first trial rejected Prosecutor Jeong's argument that it was a demotion and disciplinary action, but ruled in favor of the plaintiff, claiming that he had abused his personnel discretion by making an unusual transfer and not providing an opportunity to explain himself.
