President Lee: "Is Prosecution Investigation Completely Prohibited?"... Calls for Follow-up Measures

President Lee Jae-myung has repeatedly emphasized that public harm must not arise from changes to the judicial and criminal systems, in connection with the revised Criminal Procedure Act that abolishes the prosecution's direct and supplementary investigation powers.

While recently backing the legitimacy of the revised Criminal Procedure Act at a Cabinet meeting by calling it "a measure where things naturally return to right," he still appears to maintain a cautious stance on excessive authority being concentrated in the police.

As differences of opinion emerged among ministries over whether joint investigation bodies in the form of a joint investigation headquarters would lose their legal basis following the law's revision, President Lee also questioned relevant ministries whether prosecutors' investigations are completely prohibited to the extent that even such bodies cannot be maintained.

During a policy briefing for the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and other agencies presided over at the Blue House on the 5th, President Lee said, "The police now have the authority to completely close given cases, but the public is worried about whether the police have sufficient capability, whether they are reliable, and whether self-correction is possible."

He added, "While supplementary investigations by the prosecution as before would not solve 100% of the issues, worries are growing precisely because that (supplementary investigation power) is disappearing," and asked whether countermeasures are being well prepared.

During this process, ministries showed conflicting opinions on whether the current joint prosecution-police investigation headquarters can be maintained.

As the prosecution's investigative powers ceased following the revision of the Criminal Procedure Act, the need for a legal review of the joint investigation headquarters has also emerged as a pending issue.

Regarding the joint investigation headquarters issue, President Lee asked, "I haven't read the revised Criminal Procedure Act, so let me ask, does the bill state that prosecutors must not conduct investigations?"

When Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho replied, "The legal basis for conducting investigations has been completely eliminated," President Lee re-verified by asking, "The basis has been eliminated, but I am asking whether it has been 'prohibited'."

In response, Vice Minister of Justice Lee Jin-soo explained, "Because it is designed so that prosecutors do not fully exercise investigative authority, controversies over illegal investigations may arise if prosecutors directly intervene in investigations in the future."

Regarding the legal basis to operate joint prosecution-police cooperation bodies after the revision of the Criminal Procedure Act, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety also revealed differing views.

Vice Minister Lee of the Ministry of Justice stated, "A joint investigation headquarters system like the current one will face many legal controversies," adding, "We judge that it will be difficult to maintain it as is."

Minister of Justice Jung Sung-ho also pointed out, "If prosecutors participate in investigations, problems may arise regarding the admissibility of evidence."

However, Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Ho-jung expressed the view that a body similar to the current joint investigation headquarters could be operated, stating, "The joint prosecution-police investigation headquarters up to now did not have a clear basis in the Criminal Procedure Act. Moving forward, since the functions of the Prosecutors' Office will be divided into the Prosecution Service and the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, won't a joint investigation headquarters among the Prosecution Service, the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, and the police be formed?"

In response, President Lee instructed each ministry, "Review how to handle the joint investigation headquarters in advance and report on it."

President Lee also highlighted that Minister Jung and Minister Yoon, who are lawmakers belonging to the Democratic Party, have a long history of working together within the party, and urged them to pool their efforts in preparing follow-up measures.

President Lee smiled and said, "Since this is a matter of completely replacing a system maintained for decades, it will be difficult to eliminate all problems neatly, and it will take time and cost. The ministers of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Ministry of Justice are close to each other, aren't they? Please consult well so that you can prepare for all eventualities."

In particular, this remark is drawing attention as it can be interpreted as an expression of intent to still entrust Minister Jung with the work of supplementing the revised Criminal Procedure Act bill, even though controversies arose recently regarding his status after he offered to resign.

Ruling bloc officials explained that during the closed-door session of the Cabinet meeting the previous day, President Lee told Minister Jung, "Hang in there," in a remark intended to encourage him to continue working hard in his duties going forward.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.