Acting Prosecutor General Noh Man-seok came under growing pressure to resign on Tuesday over his decision not to appeal a controversial land development corruption case linked to President Lee Jae Myung’s tenure as Seongnam mayor, as internal criticism within the prosecution widened across all ranks.
Noh, who also serves as deputy prosecutor general, took a day off Tuesday amid reports that he is “seriously considering” stepping down.
Four days earlier, the prosecution sparked a firestorm by declining to appeal a lower court verdict in the Daejang-dong development scandal — one of South Korea’s most politically charged corruption cases.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office had until midnight on Nov. 7 to file an appeal against the court’s Oct. 31 ruling but failed to do so, effectively confirming the verdict.
Two of the five defendants in the case were each sentenced to eight years in prison on Oct. 31, by the Seoul Central District Court, finding them guilty on charges including breach of duty.
The decision came despite strong opposition from the investigation and trial teams, who argued that major legal issues remained unresolved.
Prosecutors at multiple levels — from junior staff to regional chief prosecutors — have openly demanded that Noh explain his decision or step down. Eighteen senior prosecutors nationwide issued a joint statement on the prosecution’s intranet Monday, calling for “a detailed explanation of the reasoning and process behind the decision not to appeal,” arguing that the acting chief’s remarks so far “lacked any legal or procedural justification.”
Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho defended the decision Monday, describing it as “legally sound” and made “after careful consideration of all circumstances.”
Jung said he had told the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office to “exercise caution” when reviewing the case, noting that the initial ruling had already imposed “heavier-than-expected sentences.”
The Daejang-dong scandal centers on a handful of obscure private asset managers, including Hwacheon Daeyu, who reaped astronomical profits from a 2015 real estate project in Seongnam’s Daejang-dong district, during Lee's tenure as mayor. Prosecutors accused five key developers and former city officials of collusion and breach of trust, but the district court cleared them of several major charges, including bribery.
Though the 719-page ruling mentioned Lee’s name more than 390 times and concluded that he was briefed on the project as mayor, the court stopped short of determining whether he was aware of the alleged collusion or involved in profit allocation. The verdict did not directly link Lee to criminal wrongdoing.
Lee also faces a separate trial on allegations that he caused financial losses to Seongnam Development Corp., the city-run developer involved in the scandal, but the proceedings have been suspended indefinitely following his presidential election victory in June.
mkjung@heraldcorp.com
