August 6: Launch Ceremony and First Meeting of the Prosecution Normalization Special Committee
Min Hyungbae: "About Seven Closed Ruling Party-Government-Presidential Office Meetings Planned"
Aiming to Complete Prosecution Reform Legislation by Late August to Early September
A trilateral consultative body on prosecution reform, involving the ruling party, the government, and the presidential office, will begin operating on August 7. The Democratic Party aims to complete prosecution reform by the end of this month at the earliest and plans to swiftly produce an agreement with the government and the presidential office through close communication.
After the launch ceremony and first meeting of the Special Committee on Normalizing Prosecution Sovereignty (Prosecution Normalization Special Committee) held at the National Assembly in Yeouido on August 6, Min Hyungbae, chair of the special committee, told reporters, "The trilateral consultative body will begin operating tomorrow," adding, "We will continue consultations with the government and the presidential office."
As the meetings are closed to the public, the schedule and location were not disclosed. However, Min stated, "Starting now, I expect there will be about seven meetings until the legislation is completed," and added, "Sometimes we meet once a week, and sometimes twice."
The Prosecution Normalization Special Committee aims to complete prosecution reform legislation between the end of August and early September. Min explained, "We intend to finish the legislation by September, and the first stage is structural reform," adding, "Structural reform will address four bills: the Public Prosecution Office Act, the Serious Crimes Investigation Office (SCIO) Act, the National Investigation Committee (NIC) Act, and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) Act."
He emphasized, "The fundamental principle decided by the special committee today is the complete separation of prosecutorial investigation and indictment," and further explained, "We will not leave any supplementary investigative authority with the prosecution."
Although a prosecution reform task force (TF) has already been formed within the party and its draft plan is reportedly in the final stages, Min indicated that the TF draft would not be adopted as is, stating, "There are still aspects that need to be supplemented." When asked whether the NIC could be reduced or excluded, he drew a clear line by saying, "Since the NIC exists, we will address the NIC Act."
The special committee launched today includes not only Democratic Party lawmakers such as Chair Min, Secretary Joo Cheolhyeon, and Park Kyuntaek, but also civilian policy experts such as attorneys Kim Jimi, Kim Namjun, and Lee Seokbeom, as well as professors Hwang Moonkyu and Yoo Seungik.
Party representative Jeong Cheongrae also attended the launch ceremony, stating, "For the party, prosecution reform is the most urgent of all reforms," and added, "We made a public promise to complete the reform before Chuseok at the party convention." Jeong requested, "The direction and content of prosecution reform have been organized through extensive discussions, but I ask that the Prosecution Normalization Special Committee further refine them in detail."
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