Ex-top prosecutor may return as lawyer after lewd act

A former senior prosecutor who stepped down from his post last year on charges of committing a lewd act in public is likely to return as a lawyer as his request is being deliberated by a group of lawyers.

The Seoul Bar Association said it has accepted the lawyer registration request from Kim Soo-chang, the 53-year-old former chief of Jeju District Prosecutors’ Office last week. The Seoul branch sent the application to the Korean Bar Association, its upper body, for final approval.

If over six of the nine-member screening committee approve the application, Kim will be allowed to work as a lawyer.

The KBA said it would make the decision on Sept. 22.

In order to work as an attorney, a former public prosecutor or a judge should become a member of the association.

Kim was accused of masturbating in public near his residence on Jejudo Island in August last year. He had constantly denied his charges but later admitted the allegations after investigators analyzed the surveillance camera footage.

In November, prosecutors suspended the indictment based on the jury’s decision on the condition that he would receive psychiatric assessment.

Investigators found that he had “sexual predilection disorder” that made him release his anger or stress in an inappropriate manner, adding that he needs several months of treatment.

Kim previously applied for registration to the SBA in February this year but withdrew it later as the association requested him to submit the medical treatment records. It was also reportedly apprehensive about accepting his application, citing that Kim may need more “self-reflection period”

By Lee Hyun-jeong (rene@heraldcorp.com)