Parties Call for "Thorough Investigation," But Clash Over "Supplementary Investigation Rights"

[Anchor]

Ruling and opposition parties have both visited the National Police Agency, urging a thorough investigation into the "Jang Yoon-gi case." While the Democratic Party is accelerating the passage of a bill to abolish the prosecution's supplementary investigation rights, the People Power Party has raised its voice in criticism, arguing that the police should not have a monopoly on investigations.

Reporter Park Chan-beom has the story.

[Reporter]

Democratic Party lawmakers on the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee met privately with Acting Commissioner General of the Korean National Police Agency Yoo Jae-sung on the morning of July 10, requesting a "thorough investigation without sanctuary."

[Kim Young-jin / Chairman of the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee (Democratic Party): We urged them to investigate and punish those involved, regardless of their status or rank.]

In the afternoon, the leadership of the People Power Party visited the National Police Agency to lodge a protest.

Representative Jang Dong-hyuk, who was previously denied entry when visiting the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency—which has jurisdiction over the "Jang Yoon-gi case"—argued with police officials yesterday over their refusal to allow the media to film his meeting with Acting Commissioner General Yoo, citing security regulations.

[Jang Dong-hyuk / Representative of the People Power Party: Those who are so good at following regulations are the ones destroying evidence, fabricating cases, and covering them up! We only asked to film the opening remarks....]

Ultimately, the meeting did not take place due to the disagreement over public access.

People Power Party lawmakers held a press conference at the entrance of the National Police Agency, citing the "Jang Yoon-gi case" to emphasize that the police should not hold exclusive investigative powers. They repeatedly proposed the formation of a "consultative body between the ruling party, opposition party, and the government" to discuss the issue of abolishing the prosecution's supplementary investigation rights.

The Democratic Party, which proposed an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act to abolish supplementary investigation rights on July 9, began the full-scale process of passing the bill yesterday by unilaterally convening a subcommittee of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

The party appears ready to complete the legislation by "late July or early August," before the Democratic Party's national convention on August 17.

[Kim Seung-won / Secretary of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee (Democratic Party): We are prepared to work through the night if necessary.]

The People Power Party plans to propose its own amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act as a party platform, which would maintain the prosecution's supplementary investigation rights.

(Reported by Lee Seung-hwan and Shin Dong-hwan | Video edited by Jeon Min-gyu)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.