▲ President Lee Jae-myung speaks during a Cabinet meeting held at the Blue House on the 4th.
Regarding the abolition of the prosecution's direct investigative powers through the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Act, President Lee Jae-myung urged the police today (the 4th) to make self-reform efforts, stating, "Now the police will wield enormous power, and we cannot help but worry about whether we will truly be safe in the future."
Presiding over a Cabinet meeting at the Blue House today, President Lee made the remarks while noting that "three institutions—the police, the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials—have all come to possess even the final decision-making authority over investigations."
President Lee pointed out, "It is another question whether the police are mentally prepared to shoulder responsibilities commensurate with their expanded authority."
He went on to criticize, "I practiced law for a long time myself, but I found that I couldn't trust not only the prosecution but police investigations as well," adding, "There were cases where (due to police investigative errors) perpetrators became victims, or conversely, victims ended up treated like perpetrators and sent to prison."
President Lee also criticized, "Even if they commit corruption related to investigations, they discipline themselves with just a few months of suspension or pay cuts and classify it as 'heavy disciplinary action,'" adding, "From the perspective of the victimized citizens, they suffered damage that makes them want to commit suicide, which is incomprehensible."
He then raised the necessity of strengthening disciplinary measures for investigative misconduct, asking, "Shouldn't we at least dismiss or fire them in such cases, or permanently bar them from conducting investigations? Wouldn't that raise their sense of responsibility?"
In addition, he mentioned, "There is a heated debate over whether to allow the prosecution's supplementary investigative powers, and what measures are needed if they are not allowed. It is difficult to conclude that any single approach is absolute truth, and it is true that there are concerns."
He also cited examples of inappropriate exercise of power by powerful institutions throughout modern history.
President Lee recalled, "Looking at constitutional history, there has been a cyclical pattern. Didn't they initially use the police to establish a dictatorship? Then, after people died and a president resigned, soldiers used military force to build a dictatorship."
He continued, 'After sorting that out, the prosecution effectively ran a dictatorship next. Didn't they conduct biased investigations and dust-sweeping investigations?' repeatedly emphasizing that the concentration of power back into the police is a concerning situation.
President Lee ordered, "Attacks, monitoring, and checks on the police will intensify significantly moving forward. The entire world and other powerful institutions will look for any faults the police make," adding, "This is not a bad thing; it is a call to do better. Therefore, you must prepare sufficiently in advance and make thorough efforts with a high sense of responsibility and ethical awareness."
Finally, President Lee added, "There are many worries, but since this is a world where people live, people will be able to solve all problems created by people," and "We must move forward by supplementing and filling in whatever problems arise."
(Photo: Blue House Press Corps, Yonhap News)
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