By AsiaToday reporter Park Sae-young

Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung began his two-year term on Thursday, saying that he will focus the prosecution’s direct investigation capabilities on serious corruption and economic crimes that shake the foundation of the country.

Shim’s remarks are seen as a declaration of his will to investigate former and current public officials, including main opposition Democratic Party (DP) chairman Lee Jae-myung, and the family of former President Moon Jae-in, who are currently under investigation.

At the inauguration ceremony held at the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office in Seoul, Shim said, “If we fail to respond to serious corruption and economic crimes in a timely manner, it will have a huge impact and all the people will suffer.”

Earlier, the Yoon Suk-yeol government restored the scope of direct investigation by the prosecution, which was drastically reduced due to the so-called “complete removal of the prosecution’s investigation authority” bill. Since then, the prosecution has launched a full re-investigation into various suspicions about the Daejang-dong development project and indicted Lee and his aides. The prosecution also uncovered grave suspicions of corruption, including the alleged distribution of money envelopes at the party convention and illegal remittance to North Korea. 

“The prosecution’s direct investigation should be limited to where necessary,” Shim said, but added, “Let the public trust the prosecution’s investigation through a fair investigation based on laws, principles and evidence, and a rapid and accurate investigation that only removes the corrupted areas.” The new prosecutor general also vowed to strengthen the manpower and organization of the front-line criminal department to combat crimes against people’s livelihoods. His ambition is to strictly respond to deepfake crimes, stalking and sexual violence crimes, and malicious and false contents that have emerged as social problems, along with drugs, voice phishing, and rental fraud that are major crimes involving people’s livelihoods.

“Despite the efforts of the prosecution, the handling of the case is being delayed and the public’s sentiment is worsening. The prosecution should do its best to protect the people from crimes involving the people’s livelihood,” he said.