Overview
- By not filing before the deadline, prosecutors left intact an Oct. 31 ruling that punished five private developers for breach of trust under the Criminal Act and rejected aggravated economic-crime and key conflict-of-interest claims.
- Legal exposure narrowed as potential penalties fell from life imprisonment under the Special Economic Crimes Act to a maximum 10-year term under the Criminal Act, and prosecutors lost avenues to recalculate losses or pursue a 781.4 billion won seizure.
- Prosecutors also forfeited a challenge to bribery acquittals tied to a 42.8 billion won promise, with courts treating the funds as profit distribution from the breach of trust; separate reporting notes about 47.3 billion won remains subject to confiscation.
- Political fallout accelerated as the People Power Party alleged top-level interference and urged Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho to resign, while the Democratic Party praised the move as principled restraint and warned dissenting prosecutors to face consequences.
- Institutional blowback grew with Seoul Central District prosecutors’ chief Jung Jin-woo offering to step down, a conservative civic complaint filed against senior officials, research officers urging Acting Prosecutor General Noh Man-seok to resign, and senior prosecutors demanding a full explanation for the unprecedented choice not to appeal.