[Anchor]

There is disagreement even within the Democratic Party regarding the complete abolition of prosecutors' supplementary investigation rights. Eleven lawmakers from the party have proposed a bill that opposes this, calling for exceptional allowances.

Reporter Park Jae-yeon has the story.

[Reporter]

The Democratic Party held a general meeting of lawmakers yesterday (July 14) to discuss an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act, which focuses on the complete abolition of supplementary investigation rights for prosecutors.

Floor Leader Han Byung-do emphasized deliberation and discussion, stating, "I am well aware of the concerns raised in some quarters," but placed weight on supplementary measures following a complete abolition.

[Han Byung-do/Democratic Party Floor Leader: We must complete the final puzzle of prosecution reform through an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act that centers on the complete abolition of supplementary investigation rights.]

However, it is reported that several lawmakers raised opinions during the meeting in favor of allowing exceptions for supplementary investigation rights.

Some Democratic Party lawmakers have jointly proposed an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act that would allow prosecutors to conduct supplementary investigations in exceptional circumstances.

[Hong Ki-won/Democratic Party Lawmaker: If even one innocent victim emerges as a result of a total ban on supplementary investigations, can we truly call that a successful reform?]

The scope of cases eligible for supplementary investigation includes sexual violence, violent crimes, child and elderly abuse, livelihood crimes such as voice phishing, cases where the statute of limitations is about to expire, and cases where a victim has filed an objection.

Including Lawmaker Hong, the 11 ruling party lawmakers who participated as co-sponsors are Ko Min-jung, Kwak Sang-eon, Kim Nam-hee, Moon Jin-seok, and Mo Kyung-jong, among others.

Meanwhile, the People Power Party held a forum yesterday on the necessity of maintaining prosecutors' supplementary investigation rights, emphasizing that, as revealed in the Jang Yoon-ki case, police investigations relying on good intentions are difficult to count on.

[Jung Jeom-sik/People Power Party Floor Leader: If even the prosecutors' supplementary investigation rights are abolished, the minimal checks and balances to prevent poor police investigations and the abuse of investigative power could be neutralized.]

The People Power Party leadership announced that the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act to be proposed this week will "not only maintain supplementary investigation rights but also include provisions to delete or modify the police's right to close investigations."

Reported by Oh Young-chun, Lee Seung-hwan, Shin Dong-hwan, and Kim Yong-woo | Designed by Kim Min-young