The number of prosecutors retiring has exceeded 100 every year for 5 years... This year too, a total of 110 people

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Hwang Jae-ha = As prosecutors take off their judicial uniforms in line with the prosecution reform that has been going on for several years and a major transformation of the criminal justice system, the number of retirees per year has exceeded 100 for five consecutive years.

According to the Ministry of Justice on the 13th, the number of retired prosecutors from the beginning of this year to the end of September was a total of 110.

This number corresponds to 4.7% of the 2,292 prosecutors under the current Prosecutor Quota Act, and 5.2% of the 2,129 prosecutors as of last August.

This is about half of the 200 prosecutors working at the Seoul Central District Public Prosecution Office, which exceeds the total number of prosecutors at the relatively small local public prosecution office.

The number of retired prosecutors per year was around 70 to 80 until 2018, but rapidly increased to 111 in 2019 ahead of the adjustment of investigative powers of the prosecutors and police, and then decreased again to less than 100 per year.

Afterwards, the number of retirees rapidly increased again to 146 in 2022, right after the prosecution's investigative power was greatly reduced due to the adjustment of the prosecutor's and police's investigative powers, and since then, the number has exceeded 100 every year, including 145 in 2023 and 132 in 2024.

In particular, last year, when the Lee Jae-myung administration took office and the argument for the abolition of the Prosecutor's Office gained momentum, the number of retired prosecutors reached 175, a record high.

The resignation of prosecutors in recent years is in line with the drastic reduction in prosecutorial authority due to the investigation of politically sensitive cases and the resulting public outcry.

Busan District Prosecutors' Office (currently Busan Regional Public Prosecution Office) Prosecutor Ryu Mi-rae (10th bar exam) posted her resignation on the prosecution's internal network last March and expressed, "In a situation where political logic is shaking the foundation of the judicial system, I have decided that I can no longer perform my duties in the way I intend."

Lee Seung-joo, deputy chief prosecutor of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office (currently the Seoul Southern District Public Prosecution Office), also commented on the revision of the Criminal Procedure Act ahead of his resignation last August, saying, "It is a heavy heart to see a document that is embarrassing to teach law school students that 'this is the law' being enacted as one of the basic laws of a country."

This year, with the abolition of the Prosecutor's Office and the launch of the Public Prosecution Office and the Serious Crimes Investigation Office (Heavy Investigation Office), many prosecutors retired due to the special appointment to the Central Investigation Office.

It is known that 104 prosecutors applied for the first special appointment at the Central Investigation Agency, and less than 10 additional prosecutors applied for the second special appointment.

This ‘exodus’ of prosecutors is leading to a surge in unsolved cases.

According to the Public Prosecution Service, as of the end of September, the number of unsolved cases in prosecutors' offices nationwide reached 186,307. Unsolved cases rapidly increased from 140,513 at the end of June to 165,020 at the end of July and 164,822 at the end of August.