[Anchor]

Voices of opposition are erupting over the complete abolition of prosecutors' rights to request supplementary investigations. Lee Seok-yeon, chairman of the Presidential Committee for National Cohesion and a figure in the current administration, has publicly expressed his opposition, stating it is unconstitutional. Concerns are also being raised daily within the Democratic Party.

Reporter Kang Cheongwan has the story.

[Reporter]

Lee Seok-yeon, who served as Minister of Government Legislation during the Lee Myung-bak administration and has led the presidential committee since September of last year, is known for his moderate-conservative stance.

On social media, he wrote, "The current Constitution stipulates that the right to apply for warrants—such as for arrests, detentions, and searches and seizures, which are core powers of investigation—is the exclusive authority of prosecutors." He added, "Completely stripping prosecutors of their investigative powers has the potential to be unconstitutional."

He argues that the complete abolition of supplementary investigation rights is a matter for constitutional amendment, not mere legislative revision.

Chairman Lee emphasized that prosecutors' supplementary investigation rights must be recognized not only for victim protection and the discovery of substantive truth but also to uphold the spirit of the Constitution. He stressed that a public political party should not be swayed by the concerns of its support base or partisan interests.

Within the Democratic Party, which is pushing for the abolition, voices of concern are continuing.

Rep. Ko Min-jung, a pro-Moon Jae-in faction member running for party leader, proposed maintaining supplementary investigation rights specifically for sexual violence crimes and crimes targeting the socially vulnerable.

[Interview] Ko Min-jung / Democratic Party lawmaker: I believe the separation of investigation and prosecution is a policy choice to ensure no innocent victims are created, and it should not become our dogma.

Rep. Lee So-young, a lawyer by profession, also pointed out that if prosecutors, stripped of supplementary investigation rights, are forced to rush indictments due to time constraints, there is a risk that criminals could be released. She noted that the Democratic Party has yet to provide an answer to this problem.

On the other hand, Rep. Kim Yong-min, who proposed the bill for complete abolition, argued, "This is a similar trend to four years ago when we were abolishing prosecutors' direct investigation powers." He claimed, "The aftermath of leaving two out of the six major crimes at that time, due to pressure from pro-prosecution experts and others, is the current situation."

(Video reporting: Seol Chi-hwan, Jung Sang-bo, Yang Hyun-chul | Video editing: Kim Jun-hee | Design: Park Cheon-woong)