[Anchor]

The Democratic Party of Korea has proposed an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act that would completely abolish the supplementary investigation rights of the prosecution. While the bill includes measures allowing prosecutors to request the replacement of investigators or demand supplementary investigations, the People Power Party has pushed back, accusing the opposition of gambling with the lives and safety of the public.

Report by Park Jae-yeon.

[Reporter]

The amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act proposed by the Democratic Party centers on the full abolition of the prosecution's supplementary investigation rights.

First, it deletes existing provisions such as Article 196 of the Criminal Procedure Act, which stipulates that "prosecutors investigate criminals, criminal facts, and evidence."

This effectively removes clauses that explicitly name "prosecutors" as subjects of investigation, including supplementary investigations.

[Interview] Kim Han-kyu / Deputy Floor Leader for Policy, Democratic Party: There are many clauses where the subject of investigation is defined as "prosecutors and judicial police officers." We have now excluded prosecutors from those parts.

Instead, the bill grants prosecutors the right to request supplementary investigations from other investigative agencies, such as the police.

If a judicial police officer fails to faithfully carry out a requested supplementary investigation, a prosecutor from the Public Prosecution Service may demand the exclusion, disciplinary action, or replacement of that officer.

Regarding concerns that investigations might be delayed indefinitely even after such requests, the bill sets a strict deadline: judicial police officers who receive a request for supplementary investigation must complete it within a maximum of two months, with two one-month extensions allowed.

[Interview] Kim Han-kyu / Deputy Floor Leader for Policy, Democratic Party: If they fail to conduct the supplementary investigation within the period, they will be subject to disciplinary action, exclusion from duty, and replacement.

The bill also paves the way for other investigative agencies besides the police, such as a Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, to handle supplementary investigations.

The Democratic Party plans to process the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act after review by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, aiming for passage before the party's national convention scheduled for August 17.

The People Power Party criticized the bill, stating that the Democratic Party is "obsessed with a gamble that puts the lives and safety of the people at risk, solely to appease its hardline supporters."

[Interview] Jang Dong-hyuk / Representative, People Power Party: If the police hold all investigative powers without the prosecution having supplementary investigation rights, the damage will fall entirely on the public.

The People Power Party's floor leadership is also considering proposing its own amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act, which would include provisions to retain the prosecution's supplementary investigation rights for certain serious crimes.

Reported by Park Jae-yeon | Video by Lee Seung-hwan, Shin Dong-hwan, and Kim Yong-woo | Video Editing by Wi Won-yang