July 18 Confirmation Hearing for Minister of the Interior and Safety Nominee
On the Question of Establishing the Jungsucheong: "Under Discussion by the National Policy Planning Committee"
Yoon Hojoong, the nominee for Minister of the Interior and Safety, stated that "the separation of prosecutorial investigative and indictment powers is the most fundamental principle of prosecution reform."
On July 18, during a confirmation hearing at the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, Yoon made this remark in response to a question from Chae Hyunil, a member of the Democratic Party, who asked, "Do you agree with placing the Serious Crime Investigation Agency (Jungsucheong) under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to achieve the core prosecution reform of separating investigation and indictment?"
Yoon further explained, "The newly enacted Article 4, Paragraph 2 of the Prosecutors' Office Act clearly stipulates the principle that 'a prosecutor who initiates an investigation cannot file an indictment,'" and added, "The most important thing is to institutionalize the spirit of Article 4, Paragraph 2 of the Prosecutors' Office Act."
The Jungsucheong was conceived as an agency to take over investigations of six major crimes, which had previously been handled by the prosecution, as part of prosecution reform. The Democratic Party has previously introduced a 'prosecution reform bill' that centers on abolishing the Prosecutors' Office, establishing the Jungsucheong under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, creating a Public Prosecution Office under the Ministry of Justice, and placing a National Investigation Commission under the direct control of the Prime Minister.
Yoon refrained from giving a definitive answer regarding which ministry should oversee the Jungsucheong. He said, "The issue of which ministry and in what form an investigative agency will be affiliated is currently being discussed by the National Policy Planning Committee as part of government organizational restructuring," and added, "I will faithfully implement the outcome of those discussions."
In response to concerns that placing the Jungsucheong under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety could result in excessive concentration of authority due to joint supervision with the National Police Agency, Yoon stated, "The Minister of the Interior and Safety does not have direct investigative authority over the National Police Agency, nor does the Minister have any command authority over individual ongoing investigations," and continued, "There are concerns about overlapping or conflicting investigative powers, but according to the bill submitted to the National Assembly, the National Investigation Commission will be placed under the Prime Minister's Office to coordinate such investigative jurisdictions."
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