[Anchor]

Amidst the intense standoff between the Democratic Party and the People Power Party over the abolition of the prosecution's authority for supplementary investigations, 11 Democratic Party lawmakers have proposed a bill that would allow for such investigations in exceptional cases, opposing a total ban.

Report by Kim Kwan-jin.

[Reporter]

Han Byung-do, floor leader of the Democratic Party, stated at the Supreme Council meeting held today (July 15) that the party is deeply discussing amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act. He added that they would enhance the bill's completeness to protect public interests and victims while upholding the principle of separating investigation and prosecution.

[Han Byung-do/Democratic Party Floor Leader: The amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act is intended to complete the grand principle of prosecution reform—the total separation of investigation and prosecution—while continuing intense discussion and deliberation, widely gathering opinions from the legal community, academia, and civil society....]

It is reported that several lawmakers raised opinions in favor of exceptionally allowing supplementary investigation rights during the Democratic Party's general meeting held yesterday (July 14).

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

[Hong Ki-won/Democratic Party Lawmaker: If a total ban on supplementary investigations results in even one victim suffering unfairly, 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 with impending statutes of limitations, and cases where victims have filed objections.

Including Representative Hong, there are 11 lawmakers who participated as co-sponsors, including Ko Min-jung, Kwak Sang-eon, Kim Nam-hee, Moon Jin-seok, and Mo Kyung-jong.

The People Power Party held a debate yesterday (July 14) on the necessity of maintaining the prosecution's supplementary investigation rights, emphasizing that, as revealed in the Jang Yoon-gi case, it is difficult to rely solely on police investigations based on good faith.

The People Power Party's floor leadership has signaled that the Criminal Procedure Act amendment they plan to propose this week will include not only the maintenance of supplementary investigation rights but also provisions to delete or modify the police's authority to close investigations.

The Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly is holding a meeting of the First Subcommittee on Bill Review this morning (July 15) and a plenary session this afternoon to discuss the amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act, with People Power Party members absent.

Video Editing: Park Sun-soo