On September 28, a massive candlelight demonstration calling for reforms in the Prosecution Service was held in front of the main gate of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-dong, Seoul. People from Seoul and throughout the nation filled a 1.6km stretch of Banpo and Seocho-daero. Saturday night at the "legal town" was illuminated with candlelight and LED lamps, and an estimated 800,000 to 1.5 million people filled a long stretch of the roads triggering mobile telecommunication problems in the Seocho Station area. The repeated slogans chanted by the candlelight were the words that the organizers projected onto the wall of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office towards the end of the rally: "Prosecution Service Reforms," "Defending Cho Kuk," and "Political Prosecutors Out!" Right next door, a small rally of conservative groups called for Cho Kuk to step down, but there was no clash. Citizens from all walks of life swarmed to the peaceful rally, which recalled the candlelight demonstrations in the winter of 2016.

The candles that were lighted again in Seocho-dong had many implications as well as a warning. First, it articulated the fact that the restructuring of the Prosecution Service was something necessary that our age demanded and that could no longer be postponed. The demonstration participants pointed to the Prosecution Service as the last "deep-rooted irregularity" that remained from the 1987 regime. The candlelight, which started with hundreds and thousands of people, spread in a big wave, and on social media a stream of participants expressed their thoughts with the premise, "regardless of whether or not I support Minister Cho Kuk." In other words, there were many people who now placed the Prosecution Service in the position of the Defense Security Command in the days of Chun Doo-hwan and the National Intelligence Service, which exercised unlimited power and was strongly driven by its aim to protect the organization. This means that more citizens agree that it has become difficult for the powerful Prosecution Service to "become good" on its own, and that it needs to be subject to democratic control, just as any other institution of power. The reform debate was also largely propelled and amplified by the prosecutors amidst the Cho Kuk incident. Prosecutors went beyond the purpose of their investigation, launched under the cause of seeking the truth, and repeated words and actions that could be misunderstood as political involvement, including the search before the confirmation hearing; the prosecution of Chung Kyung-sim, the wife of the justice minister, without even questioning her; and the controversial approach to the investigation, as if intent on finding any piece of dirt they could. The candlelight in Seocho-dong warned that it would head to the National Assembly in Yeouido, where lawmakers would discuss the restructuring of the Prosecution Service.

The resurrection of the candlelight in the public square also left behind questions to ponder and challenges to overcome. The Liberty Korea Party sent out instructions for all party members to come together at a rally calling for the dismissal of Cho Kuk scheduled on October 3. The competition to see which candlelight will burn brighter implies that the situation can last for an extended period of time and that the divide in public opinion could deepen. It is also disconcerting to see an increase of rash slogans that simply provoke mob psychology, such as "Step Down President" and "Stop Prosecutors' Investigation." That the candlelight has grown bigger along with enmity means that it is no longer possible to overpower the opponent with the numbers and voices of any one side. The ruling and opposition parties must be wary of a partisan perspective that they can cover the situation or threaten the government with the candlelight. Citizens are putting aside their work and gathering in the public square because politics is missing. Investigation of the truth, the minister’s course of action, and reforms in the Prosecution Service are the three knots exposed by the Cho Kuk incident. The nation is in urgent need for a politics that can refrain from dividing the nation, minimize the absence of state administration, and find a way out. Prosecutors should also heed the warning of the candlelight and accelerate their efforts to uncover the truth, which will be the first major challenge.