Jeong Cheong-rae: "Government's Prosecution Reform Plan Will Be Revised to Meet Public Expectations"

Jeong: "Legislative Authority and Responsibility Lie with the National Assembly"

Jeong Cheong-rae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced on January 13 his intention to amend the government's prosecution reform proposal.

On this day, Jeong wrote on Facebook, "The government’s prosecution reform bills (the Prosecution Service Office and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency) will be thoroughly discussed within the Democratic Party and revised to reflect public expectations for the separation of investigation and indictment," adding, "The final authority and responsibility for legislation lies with the National Assembly. We will not forget our historic duty."

According to the prosecution reform proposal released by the government the previous day, the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency is designed to investigate nine major categories of crime: economic crimes (such as stock manipulation and technology leakage), corruption (including bribery and money laundering), narcotics, public officials, elections, defense projects, major disasters, insurrection and foreign exchange crimes, and cybercrime. The Prosecution Service Office will not have investigative authority and will only be responsible for filing and maintaining indictments.

However, some within the ruling bloc have raised concerns that the dual-track system-dividing investigative judicial officers with lawyer qualifications and professional investigators without legal backgrounds-resembles the current structure of the prosecution service.

There was also a dispute between the party and the government. Kim Yong-min, the ruling party secretary of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, said, "There is significant public concern that the prosecution force itself may have crafted the prosecution reform proposal." In response, Minister of Justice Jeong Seong-ho stated, "I hope people do not view all members of the prosecution as criminals."

In response, President Lee Jae-myung instructed on the same day that "sufficient discussion and deliberation should take place within the party regarding prosecution reform and supplementary investigative powers, and the government should take those opinions into account."

President Lee Jae-myung, who is scheduled to hold a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, is seen conversing with Jeong Cheong-rae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, as he moves to his private plane at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on January 12, 2026. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung