Ruling Bloc Urges Pan-Government Task Force to Prepare Prosecution Reform Plan: "Must Be Passed Before Lunar New Year"

Democratic Party, Cho Kuk Innovation Party, Progressive Party, and Basic Income Party Lawmakers' Group
"If the local election phase begins, legislative efforts in the National Assembly will become difficult"

Lawmakers from the ruling bloc have called on the Prosecution Reform Task Force (hereinafter referred to as the Task Force), a pan-government task force under the Prime Minister's Office, to swiftly prepare a prosecution reform plan that meets public expectations so that it can be passed by the National Assembly before the Lunar New Year holiday.

Yonhap News

On January 8 at the National Assembly in Yeouido, the "Lawmakers' Group for Preparing Desirable Prosecution Reform," a gathering of lawmakers from the ruling bloc, held a press conference and stated, "To prevent delays in prosecution reform, we strongly urge the government to take prompt action so that a reform plan that meets the proposed standards can be processed before the Lunar New Year holiday in February." The Task Force is responsible for follow-up discussions on prosecution reform bills, such as the laws establishing the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the Prosecution Service Agency, which have passed the National Assembly.

This group consists of 26 Democratic Party lawmakers, including Park Jumin, Han Byungdo, Kim Yongmin, and Min Hyungbae, as well as Hwang Unha and Park Eunjeong from the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, Jeong Hyekyung from the Progressive Party, Yong Hyein from the Basic Income Party, and independent lawmaker Choi Hyukjin.

The conditions presented by the group for prosecution reform are as follows: complete separation of investigative authority (handled by the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency) and prosecutorial authority (handled by the Prosecution Service Agency); abolition of the prosecution's supplementary investigative powers; opposition to a dualized Serious Crimes Investigation Agency structure; and prompt preparation of the reform plan. They stated, "Through the last general and presidential elections, the public has given a clear mandate to reform a corrupt and unjust prosecution. Including the government, all of us have a duty to promptly and faithfully carry out this public mandate."

They further emphasized, "If this period is missed, the legislative process in the National Assembly will become virtually impossible as we enter the local election phase, and there is a risk that the grace period for prosecution reform-related bills will be extended. We urge the Task Force to keep this in mind and approach the preparation of the reform plan with a deep sense of responsibility and mission."

Min Hyungbae, who previously served as the chair of the Democratic Party's Special Committee on Prosecution Reform, said, "From the launch of the special committee, it was a given that the separation of investigation and prosecution would not allow for supplementary investigative powers. The idea of reversing this is unimaginable. If there is any intention to revive these powers, it is clearly an anti-reform, regressive plot. It must be stopped immediately."

Min Hyungbae added, "The special committee has already drafted the plan, so there is no reason for this to take a long time. There are not many contentious issues. I hope the process will be expedited and the plan will be submitted to the National Assembly as soon as possible."

Kim Yongmin said, "Since we have not yet received the official plan from the Task Force, we cannot definitively say this is the case. However, based on various sources, it appears that the Prosecution Service Agency Act may include duties defined by other laws as prosecutorial duties, and there is a possibility that this could be implemented when the Criminal Procedure Act is amended in the future."

Kim Yongmin further explained, "For now, it may appear that the Prosecution Service Agency Act does not include investigative authority, but there is concern that supplementary investigative powers could effectively remain once the law is finalized and the agency is operational. We must create a law that eliminates these concerns, and this issue will be closely scrutinized during the National Assembly's review process."