"Completion of Prosecution Reform" vs. "Destruction of Safety Net"... Concerns Within Ruling Party

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Political controversy is intensifying over the potential abolition of the prosecution's supplementary investigation authority. While the Democratic Party of Korea is demanding a full reinvestigation into the Jang Yun-gi case, it has also emphasized that abolishing the supplementary investigation authority is the final step in completing prosecution reform. Meanwhile, the conservative opposition party has criticized the Democratic Party, accusing it of attempting to destroy the public's safety net.

Here is the report by Jeong Yunsik.

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The Democratic Party has defined the allegations of evidence concealment by the police regarding the "Jang Yun-gi case" as "an act of complicity under the guise of an investigation" and has demanded a full reinvestigation.

However, regarding the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act, which includes the abolition of the prosecution's supplementary investigation authority, the party emphasized that it is the final piece of the puzzle for completing prosecution reform to prevent the abuse of prosecutorial power.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae, who served as the chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee in the first half of the National Assembly, also stated, "We must not waver when we are at the final 90 percent mark of prosecution reform," adding, "Even if there is distrust and anxiety regarding the police taking on exclusive investigative duties, it cannot be used as an excuse to delay prosecution reform."

The People Power Party, which has defined the abolition of the supplementary investigation authority as the destruction of the public's judicial safety net, criticized comments made on a pro-government YouTube channel:

[Kim Ou-joon / Host of 'Humility Is Hard, News Factory' (July 9): Why is this being reported so extensively? Because there are several cases like this every year, and it is being linked to the argument that the police made mistakes and that the supplementary investigation authority is necessary.]

[Kim Yong-min / Democratic Party Lawmaker: That is what they are claiming right now.]

The People Power Party criticized this as a barbaric act of disparaging even the Jang Yun-gi case through public opinion manipulation, and the Reform Party also pointed out that if the supplementary investigation authority is abolished, the truth could be buried several times a year.

The Democratic Party plans to accelerate the processing of the bill by continuing deliberations on the Criminal Procedure Act amendment at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee tomorrow, July 13, but concerns within the party persist.

Lawmaker Kwak Sang-eon expressed his opposition to the abolition of the supplementary investigation authority, stating that he does not agree with calling the granting of exclusive investigative power to the police a reform intended to prevent the abuse of prosecutorial power.

Lawmaker Kim Nam-hee, a member of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, also announced a joint press conference with organizations supporting victims of violence against women, expressing concern that the suffering of crime victims could be exacerbated if checks on police investigations are removed.

(Video reporting: Lee Seung-hwan | Video editing: Oh Young-taek)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.