'Whistleblower' Son Joon-sung jailed, political prosecutors sentenced to death

Son Joon-sung (center), a deputy chief prosecutor at the Daegu High Prosecutors\' Office accused of being a \

Son Joon-sung, the deputy chief prosecutor of the Daegu High Prosecutors' Office, was sentenced to one year in prison by the first court on March 31 on charges of leaking official secrets to the Future Unity Party (now the People's Power) ahead of the 2020 general election. Although he avoided jail time, it is unprecedented for an incumbent prosecutor to be sentenced to prison. The court deemed it a "direct violation of political neutrality," which should be a core value of a prosecutor. The court cited the mission and duties of prosecutors set forth in the Constitution, the National Prosecutors' Office Act, and the National Civil Service Act to condemn "political prosecution" as a crime.

Son worked as an investigative information policy officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, the eyes and ears of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol. He was accused of delivering the indictment against Yoo Min-sin, Choi Kang-wook, Hwang Hee-seok, and others, as well as the real-name verdict, to Kim Woong, a former prosecutor and a member of the National Assembly (then a candidate for the Future Unity Party), in a telegram message. The Seoul Central District Court ruled that Prosecutor Son created and sent the telegram messages and was involved in the preparation and review of the indictment. The court acknowledged the prosecutor's involvement in politics and said that "the guilt is heavy," and imposed a prison sentence.

The first-instance ruling came one year and eight months after the Public Prosecutor's Office for the Investigation of Crimes Against High Public Officials (Public Prosecutor's Office) launched an investigation and indictment. The investigation was plagued by the prosecution's blatant non-cooperation, refusal to testify, and cover-ups. As a result, the case highlighted the importance of the public prosecutor's office as a check on the prosecution. Mr. Son's impeachment trial was also requested by the National Assembly and is currently being heard by the Constitutional Court. It is hoped that the Constitutional Court will make a clear judgment on the behavior that shook the constitutional order.

During his presidential campaign, President Yoon said that "no one has filed charges" in the case. In June 2022, when he was minister of justice, Han Dong-hoon promoted Son from human rights protection officer at the Daegu High Prosecutors' Office to head of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, and again in September last year. This is a series of appointments of representative "pro-Yoon" figures on trial. In what will go down as a black mark in the history of political prosecutions, Yoon and Han, who were prosecutors above Son, must come clean about their knowledge and illegal behavior.

The accusation is an extreme form of political intervention that prosecutors should not engage in. The shockwaves from the direct involvement of the prosecutor's office leadership are significant. President Yoon and the prosecutors should take the meaning of the ruling that "the prosecutor, as a state institution exercising prosecutorial power, has a powerful authority and must not abuse it" to heart, and reflect on the trend of state management toward a "prosecutor state. Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok must publicly apologize to the shocked and outraged public, declare that he will remain politically neutral, and take measures to prevent recurrence.

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.