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President Yoon Suk-yeol is briefed on the outcomes of a meeting of a National Security Council standing committee at the underground bunker of the presidential office on June 5. (Yonhap News)

With his appointments of former prosecutors to numerous positions in his presidential office and Cabinet, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol appears all but oblivious to the longstanding worries and jibes about the so-called “republic of prosecutors.”

On Friday, he named attorney Cho Sang-joon, a key member of his lineup with the prosecutors, to serve as National Intelligence Service’s planning and coordination office, which puts him in charge of the agency’s organization and budget. He also installed attorney and former prosecutor Park Seung-keun as chief of staff to the prime minister. The nominee to head the Fair Trade Commission is another former prosecutor, Korea University law professor Kang Soo-jin.

It’s staggering to witness what seems to be an attempt to seat prosecutors in every important position, regardless of area.

The large number of people with personal connections to Yoon among the former prosecutors who have been taken on raises questions about whether he views appointments as some kind of personal favor to bestow, as opposed to an integral part of his governing system.

In addition to the many years that he spent working with Yoon as a prosecutor, Cho Sang-joon also represented Yoon’s wife Kim Keon-hee in a case involving Deutsch Motors stock price manipulation. Lee Wan-kyu, who Yoon appointed to lead the Ministry of Government Legislation, represented Yoon in his administrative lawsuit objecting to disciplinary action taken against him as prosecutor general, and he also served as an attorney in a case involving allegations against members of Kim’s family. It’s enough to give anyone the impression that the appointment was meant as a “reward.”

The selection of attorneys with a history of representing Yoon and his in-laws — which comes after presidential office positions were already given to Joo Jin-woo and Lee Won-mo, former prosecutors who were in charge of responding to negative campaigning during the presidential election — also gives the undeniable impression that Yoon is attempting to set up a shield to defend himself and his family.

When former prosecutors are installed in seemingly every important position of government, that does damage to diversity and expertise in state management. It raises the danger of the governing approach becoming trapped within the prosecutors’ narrow framework.

When presidential associates and former prosecutors are put at the helm of organizations of power that are in charge of intelligence, investigations, and appointments, this not only prevents checks and balances from operating but also raises the risk that this heavily concentrated power will end up being abused. It’s enough to raise the question of whether this is an attempt to assume control of the ship of state through an “inner circle” consisting of people from the same background as the president.

Even as prosecutor general, Yoon was criticized for only favoring his own people in his appointment decisions. It’s deeply saddening to see him engaging in the same antics now that he is president.

When a president’s only experience is as a prosecutor, that’s all the more reason he should consciously seek out people from different fields. He needs to recognize the reality: his government is unlikely to succeed if it doesn’t rectify this practice of treating former prosecutors as a privileged class when making appointment decisions.

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