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Supreme Prosecutors' Office of the Republic of Korea

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Supreme Prosecutors' Office
검찰청
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Emblem of the Office. The Hangul characters on the emblem read Geomchal (Prosecution)
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Agency overview
Formed1948
DissolvedOctober 2026 (scheduled)
JurisdictionGovernment of South Korea
HeadquartersSeocho, Seoul, South Korea
Agency executives
Parent department
Ministry of Justice
Websitespo.go.kr
Korean name
Hangul
검찰청
Hanja
檢察廳
RRGeomchalcheong
MRKŏmch'alch'ŏng

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office of the Republic of Korea (SPO; Korean: 검찰청) is a governmental prosecutor organization in South Korea and is run under the Ministry of Justice. As a national representative of prosecutors, the Office works with the Supreme Court of Korea and below. It is scheduled to be abolished and replaced with the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the Prosecutors' Office under the Ministry of Justice, a division of powers and authority, in September 2026.[1]

Organization

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It consists of:

  • Supreme Prosecutors' Office (대검찰청); executive agency that oversees the Korean Public Prosecutors' Office.
  • High Prosecutors' Office (고등검찰청); composed of different District Prosecutors' Office (지방검찰청)
    • Seoul High Prosecutors' Office
      • Within Seoul: (Central District Prosecutors' Office; Eastern District Prosecutors' Office; Southern District Prosecutors' Office; Northern District Prosecutors' Office; Western District Prosecutors' Office)
      • District Prosecutors' Office of Chuncheon (District Office of Gangneung; District Office of Sokcho; District Office of Wonju; District Office of Yeongwol)
      • District Prosecutors' Office of Uijeongbu (District Office of Goyang; District Office of Namyangju)
      • District Prosecutors' Office of Incheon (District Office of Bucheon)
    • Suwon High Prosecutors' Office
    • Busan High Prosecutors' Office
      • District Prosecutors' Office of Busan (Eastern District Office; Western District Office)
      • District Prosecutors' Office of Ulsan
      • District Prosecutors' Office of Changwon (District Office of Masan; District Office of Jinju; District Office of Miryang; District Office of Tongyeong; District Office of Geochang)
    • Daegu High Prosecutors' Office
    • Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office
    • Gwangju Public Prosecutors' Office

Controversies

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Since the latter half of the year 2010, the ruling political party in South Korea, the Grand National Party, has an uneasy stance with the budget issues and eventually generated severe disputes relating to corruptions and it contributed to criticisms against the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.[2]

On 13 January 2012, the Seoul High Court cleared one of the bribery charges against Han Myeong-sook.[3][4]

Prosecutor general

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In 2011, a prosecutor general candidate, Han Sang-dae (한상대) was under investigation for his two incidents of false address registration and his participation of draft-dodging.[5]

Civilian inspections

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The Supreme Prosecutors' Office is alleged for hypocritical actions that it poorly managed the investigation of the illegal political-level inspections towards civilian institutions in 2010, however restricted an episode of MBC PD Note about this incident.[6]

Right-wing political policing

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The SPO under the Lee Myung-bak government has right-wing political characteristics. There was a series of allegations of sabotages against the current non-partisan mayor, Park Won-soon, by the SPO before the October 2011 election.[7] Politicians who had supported former president Roh Moo-hyun also supported Park Won-soon under a unified intention to oppose the current SPO.[8] The SPO's investigations against Han Myeong-sook has led to more controversy as the Seoul High Court has found her innocent twice in the row.[9] However, the SPO has immediately appealed the decision, citing 11 different counts of evidence. Amongst them were direct statements by Han man-ho that he paid her 900,000,000 won in illegal fund money, Han Myeong-sook's siblings usage 100,000,000 won checks, and 240,000,000 won in Mrs. Han's bank account that had a 'suspicious trail'. The SPO alleges that Han Myeong-sook's assistant was taking the fall to cover for her illegal activities.[10]

Sexual favors

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In November 2012, it was alleged a 30-year-old trainee prosecutor, was found to have performed sexual acts in the office with the suspect in her 40s while questioning her over an alleged theft and other charges earlier that month. According to inspectors at the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office (SPO) four days later, he took the woman to a nearby motel where they had sex. Jae-mong Jeon, the junior prosecutor, also a patent attorney and a graduate of Seoul National University and Hanyang Law School,[11] claims the sex was consensual, according to investigators.[12] The incident has rocked the Korean Prosecutors Office to the core and resulted in a strong reprimand from the president and prompt resignation of the Chief Prosecutor.

G20 summit poster incident

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There was an incident where a university instructor, Park Jeong-su, vandalized a G-20 promotional poster by drawing a rat before the 2010 G-20 Seoul summit. His prosecution by the SPO has exposed concerns that the SPO is politically leaned to serve the Lee Myung-bak government.

Impact

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Baek Hye-ryun (백혜련), the female district attorney of the Daegu District Public Prosecutor's Office, voluntarily resigned on 21 November 2011 as the SPO cannot officially maintain its political neutrality under the Lee Myung-bak government.[13]

The former chief secretary to late President Roh Moo-hyun, Moon Jae-in suggested that the SPO's resistance against reformations during the previous Participation Government, in which it also succeeded as the spearhead of the right-wing Lee Myung-bak government, eventually contributed to the unjust investigations against Roh in 2009.[14]

Abuse of citizens

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On 26 October 2011, the Seoul Central District Court appealed against the SPO for continuing an abusive investigation of a child sex abuse case; demanded the government to compensate the family members of the case in question.[15]

Yoon Seok-yeol's resignation

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Yoon Suk-yeol, who was Moon Jae-in the government's second attorney general against major criminal investigation office of the promotion and resigned. He received public attention due to conflicts with the Ministry of Justice, disciplinary action against suspension of work and the court's decision to reject suspension of work. He has topped the presidential survey since his resignation.[16]

Reputation

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According to a survey conducted in 2009[17], 47.1% of South Koreans disapproved of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the credibility was scored low at 4 out of 10. There has been no new survey since. Overall general consensus amongst the Korean media rates the Prosecutors' Office of the Republic of Korea as having very low credibility.

Reform and abolition proposals

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The power of the prosecutor's office has been the subject of political debate and reform efforts in South Korea. Critics have raised concerns about scandals involving prosecutors and the relationship between the prosecution service and large business conglomerates. During the presidency of Moon Jae-in, the government pursued prosecutorial reforms aimed at redistributing some investigative authority to the police and establishing a separate body to investigate high-level corruption.[18]

Implementation of the reforms became politically contentious following the appointment of Justice Minister Cho Kuk in 2019. Cho, who had been tasked with overseeing prosecutorial reform, became the subject of investigations by prosecutors into allegations involving members of his family. Amid the controversy, Cho resigned six weeks after taking office. The reforms subsequently became a point of dispute between the Democratic Party and conservative political groups that supported the prosecution service.[19]

In January 2020, Choo Mi-ae became Minister of Justice and continued efforts to advance the reform agenda through the legislature.[20]

On 26 September 2025, the National Assembly passed amendments to the Government Organization Act providing for the dissolution of the prosecution service and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in September 2026. Under the legislation, prosecutorial and investigative functions are to be separated between two newly established agencies: the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, responsible for felony investigations, and the Prosecution Office under the Ministry of Justice, responsible for indictments. Prosecutors in the new prosecution office are not permitted to initiate criminal investigations independently.[21]

The prosecution service had operated as an independent institution since the enactment of the Prosecutors' Office Act in 1948. A one-year transition period was established to transfer personnel, responsibilities and authority to the successor agencies. Supporters of the reform argued that separating investigative and prosecutorial powers would reduce the concentration of authority within a single institution, while opponents raised concerns regarding the constitutionality of the legislation and its potential effects on criminal justice administration.

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ W, K. (16 November 2025). "South Korea Reins In Its Powerful Prosecutors". U.S.-Asia Law Institute. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  2. ↑ ""왜 청와대는 압수수색 안하냐"… 여야 검찰수사에 분노". No Cut News. 10 November 2010.
  3. ↑ "Court again upholds acquittal of ex-prime minister". Yonhap News Agency. 13 January 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  4. ↑ Kim, Rahn (13 January 2012). "Ex-PM Han cleared of bribery charges". The Korea Times. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  5. ↑ "Address Fraud and Draft Dodging Committed by Han Sang-dae, Next Prosecutor General?". Kyunghyang Shinmun. 19 July 2011. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  6. ↑ 정, 제혁; 황, 경상 (5 November 2010). "'검찰 이중성' 논란… 'PD수첩'땐 마구 흘리고 '靑 사찰 개입'은 감추고". Kyunghyang Shinmun.
  7. ↑ Na (나), Weon-sik (원식) (23 October 2011). 박원순 선대위 "검찰 정치개입 중단하라". 이데일리 (in Korean). Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  8. ↑ Kim (김), Do-gyun (도균); Nahm So-yeon (남소연) (22 October 2011). 노무현 죽인 검찰이 또... 박원순은 죽지 않는다. OhmyNews (in Korean). Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  9. ↑ Ku (구), Gyo-hyeong (교형) (31 October 2011). 서울시장 후보 기습 수사… 한만호 진술 번복… 검찰 완패. The Kyunghyang Sinmun (in Korean). Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  10. ↑ 검찰, 한명숙 판결문 조목조목 반박. The Chosun Daily News (in Korean). 1 November 2011. Archived from the original on 3 June 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  11. ↑ "Unknown". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  12. ↑ "Senior prosecutor resigns over sex scandal".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  13. ↑ Lee (이), Yeong-gyeong (영경) (28 November 2011). "검찰, 정치 중립 못 지켜" 현직 여검사 전격 사표. Hankook Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  14. ↑ Kim (김), Hyeon-u (현우) (21 November 2011). 노무현 수사는 정치검찰의 복수극이었다. Hankook Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on 25 November 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  15. ↑ Hwang (황), Chun-hwa (춘화) (26 October 2011). 법원 "나영이 2차피해 국가배상". The Hankyoreh (in Korean). Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  16. ↑ Lee (이), Gi-Joo (기주) (8 March 2021). 윤석열 지지율 1위…이재명·이낙연에 오차범위 밖 앞서 [KSOI]". MBC News (in Korean). Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  17. ↑ 검찰과 경찰이 ‘꼴찌’ 차지했으니…
  18. ↑ Mobrand, Erik (20 August 2020). "Politics and prosecution reform in South Korea". East Asia Forum. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  19. ↑ Shin, Mitch. "South Korea's Prosecutor General Wins Another Court Battle Against the Government". The Diplomat. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  20. ↑ Shin, Mitch. "South Korea's Prosecutor General Wins Another Court Battle Against the Government". The Diplomat. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  21. ↑ "[News analysis] Goodbye to Korea's prosecution service, a scandal-ridden tool of political retaliation". Hankyoreh. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
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