President Moon Jae-in is expected to pick a celebrity law professor as new senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, the announcement likely to be made as early as within Thursday, according to local media reports.

Cho Kuk, criminal law professor at Seoul National University’s Law School, was listed as top potential to assume the key post, which involves arranging the president‘s legal affairs and communicating with investigation bodies.

Reputed not only for his academic status as SNU professor but also for his acute remarks against the government's wrongdoings, Cho has long been deemed a likely figure to join liberal party politics or administration.

Should he be confirmed for the position, Cho is to make a rare case of a non-prosecutor to become Cheong Wa Dae’s legal affairs supervisor.

  Professor Cho Kuk (right) participates in a campaign to encourage voting on the weekend ahead of the May 9 election, in support of then-candidate Moon Jae-in. (Yonhap)
Most of the predecessors for the position -- including the notorious Woo Byung-woo who played a pivotal role in the state scandal which ousted former President Park Geun-hye -- were high-profile prosecutors. For such reason, they were also often blamed of being in a backscratching relationship with the prosecution, failing to perform their due surveillance function.

Shin Hyun-soo, former aide to the late former President Roh Moo-hyun and currently senior lawyer at leading law firm Kim & Chang, had also been mentioned as a plausible candidate.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)