Kim Oh-soo Visits National Assembly to Meet Judiciary Committee Chair... Next, Meeting with President Moon

Visit by Law Committee Chair Park Kwang-on and Others
Request for Presidential Meeting via Ministry of Justice
Kim Su-hyun, Tongyeong Branch Chief, Submits Protest Resignation... Second Opposition to 'Geomsu Wanbak'

Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo is delivering documents to Park Kwang-on, Chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, on the morning of the 14th in the chairman's office to express opposition to the 'Complete Prosecution Reform' bill. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy reporters Choi Seok-jin, Lee Ji-eun, Kim Hyung-min] On the morning of the 14th, Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo visited the National Assembly and met with Park Kwang-on, Chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, to appeal against the unfairness of the ‘Geomsu Wanbak (complete removal of prosecutorial investigative authority)’ bill.

Before meeting with Chairman Park, Kim said to reporters, "If prosecutors cannot investigate and only prosecute, criminals will be happy," adding, "It seems that the system is moving directly toward completely abolishing prosecutorial investigative authority without any institutional introduction, and I hope the mistake of 교각살우 (correcting a horn but killing the ox) will not be repeated in this regard."

Park, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, has previously stated, "The special committee bill on prosecutorial reform must be passed within this year."

Before meeting Chairman Park, Prosecutor General Kim met with officials from the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and Kim Sang-hee, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly. He is also planning meetings with National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok and People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok.

It has been confirmed that Kim requested a meeting with President Moon Jae-in through the Ministry of Justice. However, the Blue House’s stance is not favorable toward the prosecution. When asked whether Kim’s meeting request had been received, a Blue House official said, "(Whether the request) comes or not is just a matter of time," adding, "There is no need to focus on whether it has come or not." This showed a difference in tone compared to the previous day’s statement, "If a request comes in, we will consider it." The Blue House has so far refrained from issuing an official position on Geomsu Wanbak, stating that "it is a matter for the National Assembly to discuss," thus keeping its distance.

If President Moon rejects the meeting request, it would appear as if he is supporting Geomsu Wanbak. If the meeting takes place, Prosecutor General Kim is expected to request the president to exercise his ‘veto power.’ There has been no case so far where a bill vetoed by the president was passed again through a re-deliberation vote. However, it is analyzed that it will not be easy for President Moon, who has emphasized ‘prosecutorial reform’ throughout his term, to exercise the veto power.

Resignations are continuing within the prosecution. Following the day before’s resignation of Lee Bok-hyun, Chief of the Criminal Division 1 at the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors’ Office, Kim Soo-hyun, Chief of the Tongyeong Branch of the Changwon District Prosecutors’ Office, submitted his resignation on the same day. Kim stated on the internal prosecution network, "In this situation where the prosecution is no longer the prosecution, I feel thorough helplessness and chose resignation as the only form of resistance I can take," adding, "There is no reason to maintain this position as a prosecutor in name only, even though I am no longer a prosecutor."

The prosecution is also considering filing a constitutional complaint or a dispute over authority with the Constitutional Court if the Geomsu Wanbak bill passes the National Assembly to challenge its validity. Even before the law is enforced, if it is clear that it will be implemented in the future and there is a possibility of infringement on citizens’ fundamental rights, the Constitutional Court has accepted and reviewed constitutional complaints.