"Should Have Accelerated Then Adjusted"... Ruling Party to Proceed with Prosecution Reform Regardless of Controversy

Legislation for Establishing the Investigation Agency to be Pushed in June
Hwang "Moderate Views Are Largely Reflected"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] There is controversy over whether President Moon Jae-in sent a message to the ruling party to "slow down the pace of prosecutorial reform," but the Democratic Party’s Special Committee on Prosecutorial Reform, which is actually pushing forward the reform plan, is determined to proceed with Prosecutorial Reform Season 2 regardless. The Season 2 reform plan being prepared by the committee aims to completely separate the investigation and prosecution functions of the prosecution, with the establishment of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency currently at a visible stage.

On the 25th, Democratic Party lawmaker Hwang Unha, who is promoting the establishment of the Investigation Agency, appeared on the radio and said, "When President Moon conveyed his message to Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye, there was no mention of slowing down the pace anywhere." In this regard, Presidential Secretary Yoo Young-min told the National Assembly the day before that "slowing down prosecutorial reform was the president’s intention." However, he soon reversed his interpretation, saying, "There was no such wording." This appears to be a measure to avoid the impression of discord between the Blue House and the ruling party over the pace of prosecutorial reform. Lawmaker Hwang said that the call for slowing down is a one-sided interpretation by the media, adding, "There is an impure intention to stir up the idea that there is a disagreement between the Blue House and the party," and that "the Special Committee, which is handling this matter, has reflected many moderate views, so the timing has been adjusted." He does not believe that the president’s message contained an opinion on slowing down, and separately, he means that there is no problem since the current pace of discussion itself has slowed down considerably compared to before.

Hwang Unha, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at a legislative public hearing on the establishment of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency for the complete separation of investigation and prosecution, held at the Irum Center in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 23rd. Photo by Yoon Dongju doso7@

Special Committee spokesperson lawmaker Oh Ki-hyung also held a briefing at the National Assembly that morning and said, "I have never considered the idea of slowing down," pointing out that it is a "term created by the media." Lawmaker Min Hyung-bae, also a member of the committee, emphasized, "You have to have sped up to slow down," and "Such words have never been said nor do they exist." During the briefing, lawmaker Oh also revealed that they will proceed without hesitation with reforms to the prosecution’s organizational system, including measures to ban retired judges and prosecutors from taking criminal cases for a certain period. This shows their determination to continue reforms regardless of concerns about slowing down.

Another hardliner on prosecutorial reform, lawmaker Choi Kang-wook of the Open Democratic Party, also shared a post by former Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae, reaffirming his commitment to speeding up prosecutorial reform. On the previous day, lawmaker Choi shared on Facebook former Minister Chu’s post stating, "Concerns that establishing the Investigation Agency to separate investigation and prosecution would weaken crime investigation capabilities and anti-corruption investigation capacity are groundless."

Meanwhile, according to lawmaker Hwang, the establishment of the Investigation Agency, which was originally planned to be legislated by March and implemented one year later, is now being pushed for legislation in June after the Special Committee accepted moderate views. This is a measure considering resistance to legislation. Furthermore, the committee initially held the position that the Investigation Agency could not be placed under the Ministry of Justice, but this was also conceded and it was decided to place it under the Ministry of Justice. The opinion that the Investigation Agency should have the authority to request warrants was also adjusted to leave the warrant request authority with the prosecution, in line with the moderate stance, lawmaker Hwang said.