Seoul High Court Orders Disclosure of Supreme Prosecutors' Office Special Activity Expenses; Rejects Prosecution's Claim of 'Operational Difficulty'

[Financial News] The Supreme Prosecutors' Office must comply with requests to disclose the spending details of each department's Special Activity Expenses, according to a court ruling that was upheld on appeal.
On the 7th, the legal community reported that the Seoul High Court's Administrative Division 9-2 (Judges Kim Dong-wan, Kim Hyung-bae, and Kim Mu-shin) dismissed the Prosecutor General of South Korea’s appeal in a lawsuit filed by Ha Seung-su, attorney and representative of the civic group Catch the Tax Thieves, seeking to overturn the refusal to disclose information.
This lawsuit originated in September 2023, when attorney Ha requested the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to disclose the Special Activity Expenses spending details for each department, but the office denied the request, prompting legal action.
Ha argued that, following the Special Activity Expenses execution system reform implemented in September 2017, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office maintains records and cash receipts for each department’s Special Activity Expenses, and therefore requested the disclosure of these records.
In contrast, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office claimed that disclosing these details could lead to repeated and sequential information requests, and that media scrutiny could significantly hinder investigations and other official duties. On these grounds, the office refused disclosure, leading Ha to file the lawsuit.
Both the first and second instance courts ruled in favor of Ha.
The first-instance court, in February last year, found that the Supreme Prosecutors' Office is not the direct subject of confidential case investigations, and that merely disclosing the dates and amounts of Special Activity Expenses would not likely cause significant disruption to official duties. The court also rejected the prosecution’s argument regarding the risk of repeated information requests.
The appellate court upheld the original judgment, stating, "The defendant’s grounds for appeal do not differ significantly from those argued at the first trial."
In particular, regarding the prosecution’s claim that media reports following disclosure of Special Activity Expenses could disrupt investigations, the court stated, "It is difficult to conclude that there is a high probability of hindrance to official duties such as investigations simply because the media, whose mission is to monitor and criticize public institutions, raises issues or publishes critical articles about the execution of Special Activity Expenses."
Previously, Catch the Tax Thieves and other civic groups filed lawsuits against the Prosecutor General of South Korea and the Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, demanding disclosure of Special Activity Expenses, business promotion expenses, and specific business expenses, and ultimately won in April 2023. In May last year, they also prevailed in a lawsuit against the Minister of Justice seeking disclosure of the dates and amounts of Special Activity Expenses.
scottchoi15@fnnews.com Choi Eun-sol Reporter