Concerns Raised by Government, Judiciary, and Opposition over Ruling Party's Push to Abolish Prosecutors' Supplementary Investigation Powers

Calls for Caution Emerge Within the Democratic Party

Concerns are being raised by the opposition, the government, and the judiciary regarding the Democratic Party of Korea’s push to abolish the supplementary investigation powers of prosecutors. While the Democratic Party has put forward the abolition as part of completing prosecutorial reform, some within the party are also expressing caution about the move.

On the 10th, legislative review materials were placed at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's Bill Review Subcommittee 1 meeting held at the National Assembly. Yonhap News

On the 12th, the Supreme Court’s National Court Administration stated that, regarding the proposal to establish indictment review councils at each district court to deliberate and decide on the appropriateness of indictments, “The appropriateness of whether to indict can be adequately controlled through trial once an indictment is filed, and through a judicial review process in cases of non-prosecution decisions.” The administration further indicated that additional review is necessary.

Lee Seokyeon, Chairperson of the National Integration Committee, also stated on Facebook that “the complete abolition of prosecutors’ supplementary investigation powers is unconstitutional,” and emphasized that “in order to uphold the spirit of the Constitution, prosecutors’ supplementary investigation powers must be recognized in some form.”

The opposition party, the People Power Party, has highlighted suspicions of collusion between the father of Jang Yoon-gi—the Gwangju high school girl murder suspect and an incumbent police officer—and the investigative team. The party argued that the ruling party’s unilateral abolition of supplementary investigation powers could increase harm to the public, and launched a counteroffensive. The People Power Party plans to hold a caucus the following day to discuss countermeasures, including a bill to retain the supplementary investigation powers.

Within the Democratic Party, opposition to the abolition is also emerging. Koh Minjung, a Democratic Party lawmaker, said at the Korea Decentralized Democracy Leaders Conference (KDLC) that “the attitude of abolishing it first and then making fixes if problems arise is not appropriate for a governing party,” and added, “A responsible party should thoroughly examine potential side effects and prepare remedies before pushing forward.”

Lee Soyoung, another Democratic Party lawmaker, also criticized the move on Facebook, stating, “Ultimately, this proposal intends to create a ‘document-centered’ criminal justice system where prosecutors determine whether to indict based solely on paperwork,” and added, “I do not understand how this can be called reform, as it runs counter to the principle of a ‘trial-centered’ system that aims to get closer to substantive truth in criminal justice.”

Nevertheless, the Democratic Party is maintaining its stance on abolishing the supplementary investigation powers. Han Byungdo, Acting Representative of the Democratic Party, reiterated on July 7 that “the complete abolition of supplementary investigation powers is the party’s unwavering principle, and there is no internal disagreement.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.