Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho: "Checks and Balances Needed for Investigative Agencies; Please Discuss in National Assembly"

Minister of Justice Jung Sung-ho emphasized today (the 8th) that "checks and controls on investigative agencies are necessary" regarding discussions on amending the Criminal Procedure Act, including the abolition of the prosecution's supplementary investigation rights.
Minister Jung provided this response to a question from Representative Kim Nam-hee of the Democratic Party of Korea during a plenary session of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held today to table and review bills, including the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act.
Representative Kim raised the issue of suspected evidence destruction by 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 unchecked power, and there must be no unfair victims."
Minister Jung also stated, "The grand principle of separating investigation and prosecution must be clearly upheld," while adding, "Because cross-verification of investigations is necessary, I ask the National Assembly to discuss this in depth."
Regarding the allegations of evidence destruction by police surrounding the Jang Yun-gi case, he explained, "There were 11 items that the prosecution had to supplement because they were not handled properly at the police stage," adding, "We looked into them closely because there were suspicions (related to evidence destruction) during this process."
When asked if the prosecution was using these allegations for "media play" to argue for the necessity of supplementary investigation rights, he refuted the claim, saying, "Necessary measures are being taken in Gwangju, and the media is also focusing on the case, which is why reports are appearing. It is a gross misunderstanding to say that we are engaging in media play with other intentions."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.