Korea's justice minister leaves office (August 24, 2026) — a deputy will open the new prosecution service

President Lee Jae-myung approved the dismissal of Justice Minister Chung Sung-ho on August 24.

The resignation letter had been submitted six days earlier, on August 18.

Vice Minister Lee Jin-soo takes over as acting minister until a successor is appointed.

1. The sequence

Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said on August 24 that the president had accepted the resignation of a minister who stated he "could no longer carry out his duties because of deteriorating health."

Chung himself gave two reasons: health, and the judgement that the prosecution-reform legislation was complete.

2. Why the timing is awkward

The legislation Chung considered finished has not yet been implemented.

Passing a law and standing up an institution under it are different tasks. A launch requires decisions on staffing, transfer of pending cases, and operating guidance for a system that separates investigation from prosecution — and those decisions are issued in the minister's name.

Kyunghyang Shinmun's description of the result — an "acting ministry" — points at exactly this.

3. How long a successor takes

Korea's justice minister is a cabinet member, so the appointment runs through the Assembly.

From nomination to swearing-in normally takes several weeks. As of August 25 no nominee had been named, which makes a confirmed minister in office before the October launch a tight proposition.

Press reporting names Park Kyun-taek, Lee Gun-tae and Park Ju-min of the ruling Democratic Party as possibilities. None has been nominated, and the presidential office has confirmed no list.

4. Why it spreads to the cabinet

There is more than one empty chair.

With two open, ruling-party figures are discussing a mid-sized reshuffle covering at least two and possibly six or seven ministries. That range is attributed to party sources and is not a confirmed plan.

The calendar argues for moving soon. Once the regular National Assembly session convenes in September, audits and budget review absorb the schedule and confirmation hearings become harder to run in parallel. Nominating several ministers before the session is the easier path.

The president's own week fits that window. Lee hosted the Democratic Party's new leadership for dinner on August 25, with a dinner for the full caucus scheduled for August 28. Coordination ahead of the session and preparation for a reshuffle are happening at the same time.

Approval ratings sit behind it. This brief covered the number on August 25 in "Lee Jae-myung approval at 40.2% (August 24) — a sixth straight weekly decline." Reshuffles are a standard instrument for resetting the direction of an administration, and that function is more visible when support is falling.

5. What is not settled

• The successor list — the three names come from press reporting, not from the presidential office.
• Reshuffle scale — two to seven ministries is sourced to party figures, not a plan.
• October date — the month is confirmed; the day is not.
• Health details — none were made public and none are established here.
• What to watch — when a nominee is named. An early-September nomination allows a confirmed minister before the October launch; anything later means Korea's restructured prosecution service opens under an acting chief. This brief covered the wider allocation of investigative authority in "What a special counsel is — who investigates what prosecutors cannot."