Park Cheol-woo, the new head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, pledged to stabilize the organization to help it focus on prosecutorial duties.

Speaking to reporters on his first day at work on Friday, Park said he feels a heavy responsibility and is assuming the post at a time when it is urgent to restore public trust in the investigative agency and to boost internal morale.

Asked whether he'd ever encouraged prosecutors not to appeal the Daejang-dong corruption ruling, Park said a lot of misinformation about him had been circulated that would be inappropriate to discuss.

Park, who was head of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's anti-corruption department when the government opted to drop the Daejang-dong case, succeeds former Seoul central chief Jung Jin-woo, who resigned following the decision.

He sympathized with concerns that it would be difficult for him to stabilize and take control of the organization in the wake of internal protests against the decision and said he would listen to various opinions on the matter.