Judiciary Committee to Handle Follow-up Prosecutorial Reform Legislation on the 16th... Discussion on Prosecution's Disciplinary Authority

On September 14th, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly held the Bill Review Subcommittee No. 1 and decided to process follow-up prosecutorial reform legislation on September 16th, which would reorganize positions and job series of the existing prosecution structure to align with the organizational framework of the Public Prosecutors' Office and the Serious Crime Investigation Office (Jungsoo Office).

On this day, members of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee could not narrow their differences regarding the prosecution’s authority to request disciplinary action against the police. Kim Euigyeom, a Democratic Party lawmaker and chair of the Bill Review Subcommittee No. 1, told reporters after the meeting, “Some people advocated for abolishing the authority to request disciplinary action, others insisted it should be fully preserved, and there was also a compromise proposal to retain some parts and remove others. So, there are three proposals on the table.”

He added, “Since we were unable to reach a conclusion today, I will work out a resolution with Park Hyungsoo, the People Power Party whip, and aim to pass the bill at the subcommittee at 10 a.m. on September 16th.”

On the 9th, during the plenary meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held at the National Assembly, Kim Euigyeom, the newly appointed Democratic Party's Legislation and Judiciary Committee secretary, made a procedural statement. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Assemblyman Kim said regarding the follow-up prosecutorial reform legislation, “There are about 40 bills in total—around 20 in other standing committees and 20 in the Judiciary Committee.” He continued, “The remaining eight standing committees will complete procedures over today and tomorrow. The plan is to pass the bills at the Judiciary Committee’s plenary session at 2 p.m. on September 16th and then bring them to the full assembly on September 17th.”

Meanwhile, the ruling party and the government convened a high-level party-government consultative meeting on September 13th at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, to discuss revisions and supplementary measures for the enactment of the 'Public Prosecutors’ Office and its Affiliated Agencies Organization Act,' as instructed by President Lee Jaemyung.

Lee Yongwoo, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, said during a press briefing at the National Assembly press center, “The party and the government reviewed the preparation status to ensure the smooth launch of the Public Prosecutors’ Office, which is slated for inauguration on October 2nd.”

The spokesperson stated, “The party and the government have agreed to actively review changing the controversial name ‘Judicial Supervision Division’ to ‘Non-Prosecution Case Review Division,’ and to abolish the organizational posts of Criminal Planning Officer and Serious Crime Investigation Planning Officer.” He added, regarding the number of prosecutors, “With investigative functions being abolished, there have been concerns about maintaining the current number of prosecutors. Although there was no detailed discussion at the high-level party-government meeting, I expect the issue will be reviewed swiftly.”

He concluded, “There was consensus that all tasks required for the launch of the Public Prosecutors’ Office must proceed without delay to complete prosecutorial reform for the people. The National Assembly will expedite the relevant legislative procedures and, during the launch preparations, will collect feedback from various sectors of society.”

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