On January 16 via social media,
Park denounces the move as "an anti-democratic idea"
Park Hyungjun, Mayor of Busan, strongly criticized the Democratic Party of Korea's push for the "Second Comprehensive Special Prosecutor Act" and the plan to establish the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency (SCIA), calling it "a path toward new authoritarian rule."
He argued that concentrating investigative powers undermines the democratic principle of checks and balances and could lead to interference in local elections.
On January 16, through his social media account, Mayor Park stated, "The Democratic Party, which controls the National Assembly, is pushing to pass the Second Comprehensive Special Prosecutor Act by force." He added, "Already, the first special prosecutor involved the deployment of 126 prosecutors and over 500 investigators, with a budget of 20 billion won spent over six months. Now, they are essentially pursuing the same special investigation again, only with an expanded scope."
He continued, "It is clear that there is an intention to create a new authoritarian climate by stoking accusations of rebellion and to exploit this for the upcoming local elections." He further argued, "Not only are the National Police Agency and the National Investigation Headquarters, rather than the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, overseeing elections-which should be managed neutrally-but now, the SCIA would also have jurisdiction to investigate elections. This is an anti-democratic idea that blatantly violates the principle of checks and balances in a democratic republic."
Mayor Park specifically criticized the SCIA, saying, "It will be a massive investigative body with about 3,000 personnel, and it will have the priority to demand the transfer of cases from other agencies." He warned, "It will become an all-powerful, super-authority organization surpassing even the prosecution." Referring to the previous example of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, he said, "Despite the propaganda, it ended in failure, and yet, without any reflection, the government is reshaping the judicial order to suit its own interests."
He further stated, "If the unity of prosecutors was once a symbol of authoritarianism, the unity of prosecutors and police is now a symbol of the Democratic Party's soft dictatorship." He added, "Through the special prosecutor, they are openly revealing their intention to intervene in local elections."
Mayor Park concluded, "If the Lee Jaemyung administration and the Democratic Party seize control of not only the National Assembly, broadcasting, and the judiciary, but also local power, the path toward soft dictatorship will be inevitable." He expressed hope that Representative Jang Donghyeok's hunger strike would serve as a warning against this.
The Democratic Party maintains that expanding the scope of the special prosecutor's investigation and establishing the SCIA are measures to disperse prosecutorial power and reform power institutions. Given the significant differences between the ruling and opposition parties, heated political debate over the related bills is expected to continue.
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