The Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly will hold a public hearing on the so-called ‘4 laws for the dismantling of the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office’ promoted by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea on the 9th. After gathering opinions from various sectors, the plan is to officially begin review of the bill in a subcommittee.
During the plenary session held on the 3rd, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee brought up the ‘4 laws for the dismantling of the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office’, which were jointly proposed by Democratic Party lawmakers Kim Yong-min, Jang Kyung-tae, and Min Hyung-bae, and adopted a plan for the related public hearing.
The ‘4 laws for the dismantling of the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office’ consist of four components: ▲ the law to abolish the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office ▲ the law to establish the Public Prosecution Office ▲ the law to establish the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency ▲ and the law to establish the National Investigation Commission. The core focus is to limit the duties of prosecutors to prosecution and maintaining public charges. Accordingly, the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office and local prosecutors' offices will be abolished, and the Public Prosecution Office, which will be responsible for prosecutions, will take over that role. Investigation authority will be transferred to the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and police, and a separate National Investigation Commission will be established to oversee and supervise these investigative agencies.
The chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee from the Democratic Party, Lee Chun-seok, said, “The prosecutorial reform law will go through a public hearing and be referred to the subcommittee for intense discussion before reaching a conclusion on how to proceed.”
The Democratic Party is leaning toward completing relevant legislation by September. Party leadership candidates Jung Cheong-rae and Park Chan-dae announced, “We will include prosecutorial reform on the table for Chuseok” and “We will ensure that the public hears the news that ‘the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office has been abolished’ on their way back home for Chuseok,” hinting at a speed-up in the process.
In response, the opposition party expressed concern, stating, “We should not push forward with a pre-determined conclusion.” People Power Party lawmaker Song Seok-jun raised doubts during the Legislation and Judiciary Committee meeting on the same day, saying, “There is suspicion that there is a timeline and a predetermined conclusion to push this through.” He added, “Let’s not set a deadline or conclusion to fundamentally alter the well-crafted criminal justice system of Korea based on a particular incident and political interests.”