Choo Mi-ae: "Hong Ki-won's Bill Risks Regression to Anti-Democratic Prosecution System"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae criticized a proposed amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act, spearheaded by Democratic Party lawmaker Hong Ki-won, which would allow for supplementary investigations by the prosecution in exceptional circumstances. On July 19, she stated, "There is a high risk of regressing to the most anti-democratic prosecution system."

In a post on her Facebook page that day, Governor Choo argued, "The bill proposed by Representative Hong Ki-won would recognize investigative powers while leaving intact a system that allows the prosecution to monopolize indictment rights and engage in selective prosecution—distorting cases or picking and choosing based on their preferences. This would render previous efforts futile and lead to a regression to the era before the Moon Jae-in administration."

Citing examples from Germany and Japan, she emphasized the separation of investigation and prosecution, stating, "Our prosecution system possesses the most powerful and unchecked authority."

Governor Choo has been calling for the completion of prosecution reform on a daily basis recently.

Regarding the controversy surrounding the police investigation into the Jang Yoon-ki case on July 11, she stated, "Even if there is distrust and anxiety regarding the police's exclusive handling of investigations, this cannot be used as an excuse to delay reform of the prosecution, which has usurped democratic constitutional order." Furthermore, on July 17, she posted a rebuttal to claims that the abolition of supplementary investigative powers was not the party's official platform.

At that time, Governor Choo wrote, "The claim that the abolition of supplementary investigative powers is not the party's platform because it did not go through a formal resolution process contains a serious error and contradiction." She added, "The abolition of the prosecution's investigative powers has been declared multiple times by the party leader and the floor leader, and it was a major presidential campaign pledge. If the formal party platform procedure was not followed, it can simply be ratified at a general meeting of lawmakers."

(Photo: Provided by Gyeonggi Province, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.