▲ Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho responds to questions from lawmakers during a plenary session of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee at the National Assembly on July 8.
Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho emphasized the need for "checks and controls on investigative agencies" regarding discussions on amending the Criminal Procedure Act, including the abolition of the prosecution's supplementary investigation authority.
Minister Jung provided this response today (July 8) to a related question from Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Nam-hee during a plenary session of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held to introduce and review bills, including the proposed amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act.
Lawmaker Kim mentioned allegations of evidence destruction by the police during the investigation into Jang Yun-gi, the perpetrator of the murder of a high school girl in Gwangju, stating, "No investigative agency should wield absolute power, and there must be no unfair victims."
Minister Jung stated, "The grand principle of separating investigation and prosecution must be clearly upheld," but added, "Because cross-verification of investigations is necessary, I ask the National Assembly to discuss this in depth."
Regarding the allegations of evidence destruction by the police surrounding the Jang Yun-gi case, Minister Jung explained, "There were 11 items that the prosecution had to supplement because they were not handled properly at the police stage," adding, "We examined them closely because there were suspicions (related to evidence destruction) during this process."
In response to a question from Rebuilding Korea Party lawmaker Park Eun-jung, who asked if the prosecution was "playing the media" with these allegations to argue for the necessity of supplementary investigation authority, Minister Jung refuted the claim, saying, "Necessary measures are being taken in Gwangju, and the media is also focusing on the case, which is why articles are appearing." He added, "It is a gross misunderstanding to say that this is media manipulation with other intentions."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.