[Anchor]

Following the Jang Yoon-ki case and the Jeju missing person case, a series of botched police investigations has prompted strong reprimands from President Lee Jae-myung and rival political parties. President Lee raised the need to reform the police, whose powers have expanded, while the Democratic Party launched a police reform task force.

Reporter Park Jae-yeon has the details.

[Reporter]

At a Cabinet meeting today (the 25th), President Lee Jae-myung pointed out that recent issues regarding lax discipline and irresponsibility within the police have seriously surfaced.

He also stated that as the police have gained greater authority through amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act, reforms to strengthen accountability are necessary.

[President Lee Jae-myung : Public concern is very high. Because doubts arise as to whether this vast authority is matched by a sufficient fulfillment of responsibility, we must consider how to reform the police going forward....]

Democratic Party Floor Leader Han Byung-do, who previously called for a "thorough and transformative renewal" of the police regarding the Jang Yoon-ki case on the 6th, demanded "drastic reform" from the police once again 19 days later.

[Han Byung-do / Democratic Party Floor Leader : The police now stand at a "last trial" that will determine whether they can regain public trust.]

Self-reflection and sharp rebukes poured out during a police reform seminar held by pan-ruling camp lawmakers.

One lawmaker, a former deputy commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency, made the following remark, saying, "It feels as though I have lived in vain."

[Lim Ho-sun / Democratic Party Lawmaker : It feels as though we have committed an unforgivable sin. The police are still failing to fulfill their responsibilities.]

Experts suggested tighter monitoring of police authority, including strengthening the powers of the National Police Commission.

[Lee Chang-min / Lawyer : Cases are simply closed as suicides. Why are they handled that way? Because it is the easiest. External oversight is necessary.]

Following instructions from Democratic Party Leader Kim Min-seok, the party launched a police reform task force. Lawmaker Kim Nam-hee, who was appointed to head the task force, had previously emphasized the need for complementary legislation to protect victims during the recent process of amending the Criminal Procedure Act to abolish the prosecution's supplementary investigation rights.

People Power Party Leader Jang Dong-hyuk targeted the ruling camp on social media, writing, "If you knew so well about the police issues, why did you push ahead with the dismantling of the prosecution? In the end, only the public will suffer tremendous harm."

(Photo courtesy of Yonhap News / Video reporting: Oh Young-chun, Kim Yong-woo | Video editing: Won Hyung-hee | Design: Lee Ga-jin)