- PPP walked out of Judiciary subcommittee? Just making excuses to leave without working
- Ending prosecution's history of disgrace... heavily reinforcing victim protection
- Filibuster because they have nothing to say on the revision... Hope they do it legitimately
- If police investigation is insufficient, 'right to request supplementary investigation' can be used
- 7 major crimes targeting the socially vulnerable protected through individual special laws
- If supplementary investigation is not carried out, requesting disciplinary action or officer replacement is possible
- Prosecution's direct investigation powers transferred to Serious Crime Investigation Agency, a 'Korean FBI'
- Police power is not excessive... measures to prevent abuse prepared
- Minister Jung Sung-ho's resignation not officially tendered... should finish his work
- Speaker Cho Jeong-sik's mention of 'constitutional amendment for presidential consecutive terms'? Should not be overly interpreted
- Four-year consecutive term system is necessary, but difficult to apply to sitting president
■ Broadcast: SBS Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show (FM 103.5 MHz 7:00 – 9:00 AM)
■ Date: July 29, 2026 (Wed)
■ Host: Attorney Kim Tae-hyun
■ Guest: Rep. Seo Young-kyo, Democratic Party of Korea (Chair of National Assembly Judiciary Committee)
[Kim Tae-hyun]: The Democratic Party aims to pass the bill abolishing the prosecution's supplementary investigation authority at tomorrow's plenary session. For that to happen, a vote in the Judiciary Committee is needed today. Joining us to discuss the preparations is Representative Seo Young-kyo of the Democratic Party of Korea, who serves as Chair of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee. Hello, Representative.
[Seo Young-kyo]: Hello. This is Seo Young-kyo.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: I understand there was a bill subcommittee meeting until late last night.
[Seo Young-kyo]: Yes, I believe it went on past 11:30 PM.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Did it wrap up well? Reports say members of the People Power Party walked out, saying that the Democratic Party had already prepared the clause table and was telling them to just go along with it unilaterally without listening to them, so they said it was unnecessary and left.
[Seo Young-kyo]: Let me clarify this once and for all today. Haven't they refused to attend for a whole month? After refusing to show up for a month, standing committee chairs were elected last Thursday—or perhaps before that. Then they should have attended the next meeting. Our executive secretary, Kim Seung-won, called them multiple times asking them to come, but they didn't attend last Friday's subcommittee either. So I had no choice but to call them on Saturday to ask them to attend on Monday, and thus we formed the subcommittee on Monday. We were scheduled to discuss this in the subcommittee that afternoon, but they refused to discuss it.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Yes.
[Seo Young-kyo]: And yesterday, Tuesday, was the first time they entered, and then they walked out again. They claimed they were being treated as mere props, but that's not true. Since they receive taxpayers' money, they ought to work hard. I think they were just looking for excuses to walk out instead of working. I sternly warn them that they shouldn't act like that.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: You are saying the People Power Party intentionally avoided participating.
[Seo Young-kyo]: That's correct.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: So since it passed the bill subcommittee yesterday, all the legal clauses have been finalized, right?
[Seo Young-kyo]: The clauses are out.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: So the final draft is ready?
[Seo Young-kyo]: Yes.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Madam Chair, what is the core content?
[Seo Young-kyo]: First of all, please don't refer to it as the "bill abolishing supplementary investigation." Originally, the term "supplementary investigation" does not even exist in the Criminal Procedure Act.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Right, it doesn't.
[Seo Young-kyo]: Yes. Did you know that? The law previously mentioned "investigation." However, under the Prosecution Office Act bill passed earlier, it specified that prosecutors do not conduct investigations, so "investigation" was removed. Prosecutors will focus on indicting, maintaining prosecution and public prosecution in trials, and checking the police and protecting human rights through the right to request warrants.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Yes.
[Seo Young-kyo]: So you can see it as putting an end to all the prosecution's history of disgrace. The peak of that was Prosecutor General Yoon Suk Yeol. They suppressed all stock manipulation allegations regarding his wife. The peak of fabricated prosecutions and fabricated investigations was political elimination targeting Representative Lee Jae-myung and President Moon Jae-in. I was victimized too; they concocted charges to indict me, forcing me to go through the first, second, and third trials before being acquitted, spending huge amounts on attorney fees. Almost everyone seems to have suffered from the prosecution in this way. Through what is called the "request for supplementary investigation," prosecutors will request the police to carry out what used to be their direct investigations. As I mentioned, prosecutors will handle indictments and maintaining prosecution, while police conduct investigations. If an investigation is deemed insufficient for indictment and prosecution, or if a case was closed without referral but needs further review, the prosecutor will have the police carry out the investigation previously done through their own investigators. The key point is that the authority to request supplementary investigation from the police is retained.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Yes.
[Seo Young-kyo]: Second, the Criminal Procedure Act has historically been a procedural law between prosecutors, courts, police, and suspects. But changing with the times, we drafted this law to evolve into a legislation that incorporates the rights of victims.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: There were cautious voices within the Democratic Party as well, including during the general meeting of lawmakers.
[Seo Young-kyo]: Yes.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Also, the president stated several times that leaving exception powers for supplementary investigation was his conviction. There were various concerns, especially overlapping with the Jang Yoon-gi incident. Do you feel those concerns have all been resolved?
[Seo Young-kyo]: I can say that we carefully reflected those concerns and incorporated solutions and details into the bill. I am not sure if the president used the exact term conviction, though.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: I believe he mentioned it about twice recently.
[Seo Young-kyo]: For instance, regarding what to do if a suspect is caught suddenly in a case close to the statute of limitations, we prepared provisions so that the police and prosecutors can resolve it immediately together. In cases involving detention, what role does the prosecutor play? We included provisions allowing prosecutors to observe alongside police during investigations in detention cases. So we took those concerns into account and created supplementary measures for the issues raised by the president.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Yes.
[Seo Young-kyo]: Next, regarding the concerns raised within the party about victims and the vulnerable being hurt when cases are not referred or during investigations, I listened closely to victims' voices and incorporated them into the bill. By addressing victims' perspectives and potential procedural flaws, this legislation actually provides stronger protection for victims while ensuring criminals are caught. Moreover, if a victim wishes to speak directly with a prosecutor, prosecutors are empowered to hear their opinions and verify facts.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Looking at what you mentioned regarding the seven major crimes targeting the socially vulnerable—child abuse, domestic violence, sex crimes, child sex crimes, stalking, abuse of persons with disabilities, and elder abuse—you are referring to the supplementary measures such as requiring full case referral for these and establishing dedicated departments in the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, right?
[Seo Young-kyo]: Full case referral is not included inside the Criminal Procedure Act itself. These matters, such as child abuse originally,
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Right, in individual special laws.
[Seo Young-kyo]: That's right. Because provisions for full case referral are already contained in the Special Act on Child Abuse and the Special Act on Domestic Violence, we are inserting protections for those vulnerable victims into individual special laws. As Chair of the Judiciary Committee, I will thoroughly review and pass them.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: However, listening to Minister of Justice Jung Sung-ho, he says this is insufficient. For instance, he asks what about voice phishing or victims of other crimes, even beyond the seven major crimes.
[Seo Young-kyo]: That is not the case. Does police investigate voice phishing or not under this Criminal Procedure Act?
[Kim Tae-hyun]: The police do.
[Seo Young-kyo]: Of course they do. They have always done so. Police conducted the investigations, and when a crime was established, they referred it to the prosecution for indictment and trial. Since these are organized crimes, police set up task forces and Korean Desks to arrest suspects overseas. All of that was done by the police. What is being adjusted here is that additional work is handled through requests for supplementary investigation; prosecutors were not going out to arrest suspects themselves.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Madam Chair, prosecutors make requests for supplementary investigation to the police. If the police sit on or ignore the prosecution's request, are there measures in place for such cases?
[Seo Young-kyo]: Of course. Police have always handled ordinary investigations.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: General criminal cases.
[Seo Young-kyo]: Previously, prosecutors mainly listened to the views of victims and suspects, but now they send requests for supplementary investigation to the police. For urgent documents, tax delinquency records, or documents identifying members of voice phishing rings, those can be submitted right away. So when prosecutors set a deadline for supplementary document submission, it must be sent by that date. For requests involving interviewing people and checking facts, a one-month deadline is set if urgent, with an extension of one additional month if further investigation is needed.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Yes.
[Seo Young-kyo]: If police fail to carry out the request for supplementary investigation without justifiable reason, prosecutors can demand disciplinary action or request the replacement of the investigating officer—a mechanism that exists even now. We have clearly incorporated this, making it even better defined than before. As Judiciary Chair, I added another provision: suppose a victim goes for an investigation and reluctantly shares painful details, but police fail to collect evidence properly for, say, six months.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: For example, the police.
[Seo Young-kyo]: Yes. If constitutional rights are felt to be infringed, victims can request a change of police officer through an objection procedure. Alternatively, if a case seems compromised like the Jang Yoon-gi incident, we enabled the creation of a team in the Serious Crime Investigation Agency to perform supplementary investigations.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: In any case, prosecutorial investigation powers are shifting to the police—as well as to the Serious Crime Investigation Agency and Prosecutory Office.
[Seo Young-kyo]: That is not so. Police conducted investigations while prosecutors focused on indictment. The direct investigations previously done by prosecutors are being transferred to the Serious Crime Investigation Agency—essentially creating a Korean version of the FBI.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Regardless, the prevailing view is that police power has grown larger than before. Are there means to check that expanded police authority?
[Seo Young-kyo]: Police authority hasn't grown; rather, police are made to conclude their own investigations responsibly. Did police authority expand following cases like the Jang Yoon-gi incident? No. Prosecutors held a monopoly on both investigation and indictment, while police conducted investigations as specialized investigative bodies. However, to prepare against cover-ups, suppression of cases, or involvement of family members, we have institutionalized Investigation Deliberation Committees and internal police corruption investigation squads to check such abuses.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: So you've established countermeasures against potential abuse of police power.
[Seo Young-kyo]: Absolutely. If police officers step out of line, even slightly, as seen in the Jang Yoon-gi case, they face immediate arrest.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Is that so?
[Seo Young-kyo]: Even the National Investigation Headquarters was search-and-seized. The bigger issue lies with prosecutors. Prosecutors commit all kinds of wrongdoing, yet no one gets punished.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: There is the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO).
[Seo Young-kyo]: Currently, it is difficult for the CIO to enforce punishment.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Is that right?
[Seo Young-kyo]: That is why preparations are underway to strengthen the punishment authority of the CIO. Prosecutors have fabricated investigations, fabricated indictments, conducted retaliatory investigations, targeted investigations, and separate line-of-inquiry investigations. Yet they continued to thrive. There were similar instances within the prosecution as well, like the Jang Yoon-gi incident. For example, prosecutors buried the Kim Hak-eui sexual violence case. Even though police recommended indictment, prosecutors summoned the victim and buried it. The case involving Han Dong-hoon's brother-in-law was also buried by prosecutors. The body that can uncover these and enforce accountability is the National Assembly. Since Parliament can impeach, we plan to hold hearings. We must discipline those who have done wrong so as to keep the prosecution in check.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Yes.
[Seo Young-kyo]: Look at the recent Choi Young-joong case, where the Cheongju District Prosecutors' Office rejected or refused all warrant requests. We will hold hearings on this and establish penalizing provisions as well.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Understood. So your goal is to pass it in the Judiciary Committee today and handle it at tomorrow's plenary session, right?
[Seo Young-kyo]: It will be processed at the full Judiciary Committee meeting this morning, and then submitted to tomorrow's plenary session.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: The People Power Party says they will launch a filibuster.
[Seo Young-kyo]: We expected the PPP to filibuster, but seeing this bill—which strengthens victim protection, puts an end to the prosecution's history of disgrace, and enables mutual cooperation and checks for better investigations—they actually have very little to argue against. I hope their filibuster process is more legitimate rather than just continuous obstruction.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Yes.
[Seo Young-kyo]: One more thing: alongside this Criminal Procedure Act, there are urgent bills across standing committees that could not be passed because the PPP refused to participate. The president created conditions to invest in the AI era, and we need to pass legislation to support that. We plan to pass around 70 such bills together.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: I see. Is Minister Jung Sung-ho stepping down? Because he tendered his resignation.
[Seo Young-kyo]: There has been no official statement that he tendered his resignation. That is why it is being misrepresented. Rather than tendering a resignation, he simply told me, "I will return to the National Assembly soon."
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Yes.
[Seo Young-kyo]: Everyone envies taking on a ministerial position. In my view, he was being somewhat modest. He signaled that it might be time for him to return to Parliament and let another minister take over and work hard.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: So he does have the intention to step down.
[Seo Young-kyo]: I think any minister goes through such a transitional preparation. When he said he would return to the Assembly soon, it meant he would finish the work he needs to complete first. What I want to convey to the public is that while prosecutors will not conduct direct investigations, their needs are fully addressed through requests for supplementary investigation. The direct investigations prosecutors used to conduct are handed over to the Serious Crime Investigation Agency—a Korean-style FBI. Therefore, proper frameworks must be built for the Serious Crime Investigation Agency and for prosecutors in the Prosecutory Office to indict and maintain prosecutions. The Minister of Justice is the person responsible for building that framework, so I hope he completes that work well before leaving.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: So you are saying the minister should complete his mission until the Prosecutory Office and the Serious Crime Investigation Agency are launched in October.
[Seo Young-kyo]: I expect he will carry out that duty and ensure things are launched smoothly.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: That would be around the end of the year. However, media interpretations suggest Minister Jung Sung-ho might be stepping down due to disagreement over abolishing the prosecution's supplementary investigation authority.
[Seo Young-kyo]: Claims that he is stepping down out of dissatisfaction—let me do a clear fact-check on that. Minister Jung Sung-ho has never once stated that the supplementary investigation authority should remain unchanged as before. He always maintained that stance when appearing before our Judiciary Committee. He discussed full case referrals for the vulnerable, but full case referrals impose an excessive burden on prosecutors, making concentrated review difficult. Thus, we are limiting such measures to vulnerable groups and preparing alternatives.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Understood. Madam Chair, let's address one final point. Yesterday, National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik held his first press conference. When asked about a constitutional amendment allowing consecutive presidential terms, he caused controversy by answering, "Allowing a sitting president to run for consecutive terms is a matter of public choice."
[Seo Young-kyo]: Yes.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Because previously, former Speaker Woo Won-shik and senior Democratic Party lawmakers drew a firm line when asked this question, calling it absurd. However, Speaker Cho Jeong-sik seemed to leave the door open yesterday by calling it "a matter of public choice," causing controversy.
[Seo Young-kyo]: Basic constitutional amendment proposals include enshrined principles like incorporating the spirit of the May 18 Democratization Movement into the Constitution's preamble, which the People Power Party has opposed.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Yes.
[Seo Young-kyo]: Also, among public opinions, there are many calls to reform the single five-year presidential term into a four-year consecutive term system.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: There is indeed such sentiment.
[Seo Young-kyo]: However, yesterday's question was framed around the People Power Party opposing consecutive terms for the current president. Because that was how the question was asked, the answer was given in that context. Therefore, interpreting it beyond that seems overreaching. That was simply an answer to the specific question asked.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Yes.
[Seo Young-kyo]: Since you said that was the last question, there is one more thing I must address: the case involving former People Power Party city councilor Choi Young-joong. This city councilor committed child sexual exploitation targeting a child under 13. Furthermore, Kim Jin-mo, head of the local PPP chapter, defended him before resigning. Kim is a former chief prosecutor who headed the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office. The deputy chief prosecutor at the Cheongju District Prosecutors' Office currently investigating this case used to serve under Kim when Kim was head of the Southern District office. How could child sexual exploitation occur like this? It is absolutely unacceptable and should outrage the entire nation. Yet when police requested a communications record warrant for this, prosecutors rejected it. And when police requested an arrest warrant, prosecutors refused it. How can such a thing happen in this world? Then they engaged in media manipulation. It seems to be getting back on track now, but I believe the People Power Party needs to deeply reflect on itself regarding this matter. Instead, they keep deflecting. What on earth did these prosecutors do? I consider this collusion between prosecutors and politicians—a major scandal. Prosecutors ought to protect the vulnerable and punish criminals. Reports suggest there are many more perpetrators involved. Hindering police investigation instead of uncovering the truth makes this a prosecutorial version of the Jang Yoon-gi case—or perhaps an even scarier case.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Understood. Madam Chair, just one more question. Regarding the consecutive term issue mentioned earlier, what is your personal view? On whether incumbent President Lee Jae-myung could seek a consecutive term through a constitutional amendment—is that possible, or is it unacceptable under the current Constitution? What is your position?
[Seo Young-kyo]: Personally, if we amend the Constitution, I believe transitioning from a single five-year term to a four-year renewable term, in line with traditional constitutional revision arguments, is necessary.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Many citizens agree on that.
[Seo Young-kyo]: Yes. I believe constitutional discussions should be limited to that extent.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: So if a four-year renewable term amendment is made, it would not apply to incumbent President Lee Jae-myung, right?
[Seo Young-kyo]: If amended that way, it should naturally work like that. However, many people express views that since he is doing such a good job, shouldn't he serve a consecutive term? That is why I think the reporter and the People Power Party asked out of concern over that possibility.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: But practically speaking, you are saying it is not a simple matter.
[Seo Young-kyo]: That's right.
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Understood. We will end here today. We have been speaking with Representative Seo Young-kyo of the Democratic Party, Chair of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee. Thank you.
[Seo Young-kyo]: Thank you.
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