Revision of Criminal Procedure Act Abolishing Prosecutors' Supplementary Investigation Powers Passes Plenary Session

[Anchor]

A revision to the Criminal Procedure Act passed the plenary session of the National Assembly this afternoon, led by the ruling and pan-ruling parties, including the Democratic Party. Marking the first comprehensive overhaul of the criminal justice system in 72 years, the Democratic Party hailed it as a "historic turning point," while the People Power Party denounced it as an "unprecedented bad law" that will only increase public suffering.

Reporter Son Hyeong-an has the details.

[Reporter]

The revision to the Criminal Procedure Act, which the Democratic Party has described as the "period at the end of prosecution reform," passed the plenary session of the National Assembly this afternoon with the leadership of the pan-ruling bloc.

This marks the first comprehensive restructuring of the criminal justice system in 72 years. The bill entirely deletes Article 196 of the current act, which stipulated prosecutors' direct investigation powers, and abolishes prosecutors' supplementary investigation powers, leaving only the authority to request supplementary investigations.

The Democratic Party stated that a new criminal justice system has begun and announced that it will hold a public briefing session on the Criminal Procedure Act next Monday to outline follow-up measures.

[Han Byeong-do, Democratic Party Floor Leader: This is a historic turning point that separates investigation from indictment, placing prosecutorial power under the control of the Constitution and the people.]

On the other hand, the People Power Party fiercely criticized the bill as an "unprecedented bad law" that fails to protect the vulnerable while allowing the powerful to evade legal surveillance.

[Jeong Jeom-sik, People Power Party Floor Leader: An unprecedented bad law that will go down in history as a disgrace to the constitutional history has been passed. More than a majority of the public opposed the abolition of supplementary investigation powers.]

In the ensuing plenary session, a revision to the National Assembly Act was submitted under the leadership of the Democratic Party, which aims to shorten the fast-track bill review period from a maximum of 330 days to 90 days.

The People Power Party stated that it would also block this through a filibuster, but because the extraordinary July parliamentary session ends tonight at midnight, the filibuster will also automatically conclude.

Consequently, the revision to the National Assembly Act is expected to be put to a vote during the first plenary session of the extraordinary August parliamentary session.

(Video by Lee Seung-hwan and Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing by Lee Seung-jin)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.