President Lee: "I Haven't Read the Revised Criminal Procedure Act, Does It Say Prosecutors Cannot Investigate?"

President Lee Jae-myung has continuously emphasized that the public must not suffer damage due to changes in the judicial and criminal systems, regarding the revised Criminal Procedure Act that abolishes prosecutors' direct and supplementary investigation powers.

During a recent Cabinet meeting, he lent weight to the legitimacy of the revised Criminal Procedure Act, calling it "a measure of the rule of law ultimately righting itself," yet he still showed caution regarding the concentration of excessive authority in the police, separate from this.

As disagreements arose among ministries over whether joint investigation headquarters-style cooperative investigative bodies between prosecutors and police would lose legal grounds after the law revision, President Lee even inquired with the relevant ministries whether prosecutors' investigations were completely prohibited to the extent that such bodies could not even be maintained.

Presiding over a work report from the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and other agencies at the Blue House on the 5th, President Lee said, "The police now have complete authority to close given cases, but the public is worried about whether the police have sufficient capabilities, whether they are trustworthy, and whether self-correction is possible."

He added, "While it may not be a problem that is 100% resolved by prosecutors conducting supplementary investigations as before, worries are growing because that (supplementary investigation power) is disappearing," asking whether countermeasures for this are being well prepared.

In this process, differences in opinion among ministries were also seen regarding whether the current prosecution-police joint investigation headquarters can be maintained.

With prosecutors' investigative powers disappearing following the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Act, the need for legal review regarding 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 I am asking, but according to the bill, does it say that prosecutors must not conduct investigations?"

When Minister of Justice Chung Sung-ho stated, "The legal grounds enabling investigations have completely disappeared," President Lee reconfirmed by asking, "The grounds have disappeared, but I am asking whether it is 'prohibited'."

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

The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety also revealed differences in opinion regarding the legal grounds to operate prosecution-police cooperative bodies after the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Act.

Vice Minister of Justice Lee said, "The current joint investigation headquarters system will have many legal controversies," adding, "We judge that it will be difficult to maintain it as it is."

Minister of Justice Chung 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 an opinion to the effect that a body similar to the current joint investigation headquarters could be operated, stating, "The prosecution-police joint investigation headquarters until now did not have clear grounds in the Criminal Procedure Act. In the future, since the functions of the Prosecutors' Office will be divided into the Prosecution Service and the Serious Crime Investigation Office, won't a joint investigation headquarters of the Prosecution Service, the Serious Crime Investigation Office, and the police be formed?"

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

President Lee also highlighted that Minister Chung and Minister Yoon, who are members of the National Assembly belonging to the Democratic Party, have been active together in the party for a long time, and requested them to pool their efforts in preparing follow-up measures.

President Lee smiled and said, "Since this is a matter of changing a system maintained for decades in its entirety, it will be difficult to eliminate all problems cleanly, and it will take time and money. The Ministers of the Interior and Safety and Justice are close to each other, aren't they? Please consult well so that you can prepare for all cases."

In particular, this remark is drawing attention because it can be seen as expressing the intention to entrust Minister Chung with the work of supplementing the revised Criminal Procedure Act bill, even though controversy recently arose over his status as Minister Chung expressed his intention to resign.

A ruling party official explained that during the closed-door part of the Cabinet meeting the previous day, President Lee told Minister Chung, "Hold on tight," in a remark intended for him to continue working hard in his position in the future.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.