The Transition Team Concludes "Complete Abolition of Prosecution Review" Is Wrong... "Prosecutorial Independence" Expected in Draft National Tasks

Yoon Criticizes 'Complete Corruption' and Resigns as Prosecutor General to Start Political Career

Yongho Lee, Secretary of the Political, Judicial, and Administrative Subcommittee of the Presidential Transition Committee, is briefing at the Presidential Transition Committee press conference room in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 27th. Photo by Transition Committee Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] As the Presidential Transition Committee prepares a draft of the new government's national agenda, it is expected to include measures to ensure the independence of the prosecution.

The independence of the prosecution is an issue of interest to President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol, who previously served as Prosecutor General. In March last year, Yoon declared that "the current government's complete removal of prosecution's investigative authority (Geomsu Wanbak) leads to rampant corruption (Bupae Wanpan)" before entering politics.

According to the Transition Committee on the 3rd, the committee plans to report the draft national agenda, compiled from Yoon Seok-yeol's presidential campaign pledges and government ministries' work reports, to the president-elect.

First, the committee believes that to ensure the prosecution's independence, the Minister of Justice's right to direct investigations in specific cases through the Prosecutor General should be abolished. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the Ministry of Justice recently expressed agreement during the committee's work report that the exercise of investigative directive authority by the Minister of Justice has caused some controversy over the erosion of prosecutorial independence.

Additionally, the committee reports that the current system, where the Ministry of Justice receives the prosecution's budget from the Ministry of Economy and Finance and allocates it, should be changed so that the prosecution independently prepares its budget directly with the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The current method, where the budget is received and executed through the Ministry of Justice, is seen as forcing prosecution investigations to be influenced by political considerations.

Furthermore, President-elect Yoon has pledged to abolish Article 24 of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (HOCI) Act. Article 24, Paragraph 1 of the HOCI Act allows the HOCI to request the transfer of cases when the prosecution or police conduct overlapping investigations. Paragraph 2 mandates that other investigative agencies, such as the prosecution, notify the HOCI if they become aware of crimes committed by high-ranking officials.

Regarding this, the Transition Committee emphasized in the afternoon that ▲the fact that Article 24 of the HOCI Act has been invoked only twice does not justify its existence, ▲Article 24 is clearly a toxic provision that causes conflicts among investigative agencies due to the HOCI's superior status, and ▲from the perspective of checks and balances between the prosecution and police, abolishing Article 24 is the correct direction.

Even if selected as a national agenda, the measures discussed recently to secure prosecutorial independence will face significant hurdles before becoming actual policies, as amendments to the Prosecutors' Office Act and the HOCI Act are required.

Regarding the independent budgeting of the prosecution, the committee holds the view that it can be done by presidential decree, but the Ministry of Justice has expressed that ultimately, a budget department must be established within the prosecution, necessitating amendments to the Prosecutors' Office Act.

However, with the Democratic Party of Korea holding 172 seats in the National Assembly and voices calling again for Geomsu Wanbak, opposition is expected even if the proposals are submitted to the legislature.

The Transition Committee is sensitive about mentioning whether prosecutorial independence will be selected as a national agenda. A spokesperson for the committee stated, "We plan to complete and report the draft national agenda by tonight," adding, "Since the content may change in the future, revealing the draft in advance could cause confusion among the public, so it is difficult to comment even on major topics."