TOP PROSECUTOR CANDIDATES DOWN TO 4

[Anchor Lead]

Candidates for the next prosecutor-general have been whittle down to four. Lee Sung-yoon, the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, did not make the short list. Justice Minister Park Beom-kye plans to recommend one final candidate to President Moon as early as today.

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The Prosecutor-General post has been vacant for nearly two months since Yoon Seok-youl stepped down. The prosecutor-general candidate recommendation committee selected four candidates and recommended them to Justice Minister Park Beom-kye. On the list are former Vice Minister of Justice Kim Oh-soo, head of the Gwangju High Prosecutors’ Office Koo Bon-seon, Institute of Justice President Bae Seong-beom, and Deputy Prosecutor General of Supreme Prosecutors’ Office Cho Nam-kwan. The Ministry of Justice said the nomination committee assessed 13 initial candidates on their eligibility, such as competence, morality and commitment to prosecutorial reform.

[Soundbite] Park Sang-ki(Prosecutor-General Candidate Recommendation Committee(Apr. 29)) : "Everyone was satisfied with the outcome and we had no big disputes."

Justice Minister Park will select one candidate from the committee’s list and recommend that person to President Moon Jae-in as early as Friday. Lee Sung-yoon of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, considered the front-runner, did not make the short list. The recommendation committee members conducted two votes to whittle down the eligible candidates but Lee failed to receive majority votes in both polls. Lee did not make the cut because he is being investigated by the prosecution. The fact that he called for an investigation review board that includes outside experts also worked against him.

[Soundbite] Lee Jong-yop(Pres., Korean Bar Association(Apr. 29)) : "I think a person who doesn’t trust his own organization is not qualified to be its leader."

Fifteen members of the investigation review board that will determine whether Lee should be indicted have already been selected through a draw. The review board will meet on May 10th.