Uprising in Prosecutor"s Office Gains Momentum

On February 2, junior prosecutors continued to spread their discontent; they are requesting the resignations of high-ranking officials in the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office(SPPO) including the Prosecutor-General Kim Tae Joung. The Ministry of Justice(MOJ) and leading SPPO officials are, understandably, trying to diffuse the movement.
President Kim Dae Jung emphasized, 'The Minister of Justice and the prosecutor-general should begin full-size reform. The heads of district and high prosecutor's offices should be firm in reforming. People want to reform the 50 years of bad habitual practices by the judiciary and prosecutors.'
Park Sang Chon, photo, the minister of justice, stated in a press conference, 'In any case, the prosecutors' collective action cannot be accepted. The prosecutor-general will not resign despite his subordinates' request.'
The ruling and opposition parties expressed very different reactions to the prosecutors' action . The ruling National Congress for New Politics(NCNP) revealed that they were very worried about the prosecutors collective action and that although the entire prosecutor's office needs to be reformed the rebellious prosecutors actions are inacceptable.
Ahn Taek Su, a spokesman of the opposition Grand National Party (GNP), commented, 'This collective action is a reflection of the resistance to the prosecutor's office being influenced by political powers. The prosecutor's office should be significantly changed from top to bottom and this includes the resignation of high-ranking officials and the prosecutor-general.'