President Moon: "Power Agency Reform, With Determination to Be Reborn for the People"

Presiding over the 2nd National Intelligence Service, Prosecution, and Police Reform Strategy Meeting
"Power Institution Reform Is Difficult but Should Not Be Overcomplicated"

President Moon Jae-in is presiding over the 2nd National Intelligence Service, Prosecution, and Police Reform Strategy Meeting at the Blue House on the afternoon of the 21st.

President Moon Jae-in said on the 21st, "The government has been pushing forward reforms of power institutions not merely by adjusting and redistributing the powers of each authority or partially amending laws and systems, but with the determination to be reborn for the people," adding, "We must now strive even harder to complete the remaining tasks."

At the 2nd Strategic Meeting on the Reform of the National Intelligence Service, Prosecution, and Police held at the Blue House that day, President Moon stated in his opening remarks, "Our government's reform of power institutions has made irreversible progress."

President Moon acknowledged that "reforming power institutions is a difficult task," but said, "There is no need to overcomplicate it." He emphasized, "Reforming power institutions means enabling everyone?from the heads responsible for the organizations to the frontline officers sweating it out?to faithfully perform their duties."

This 2nd strategic meeting, held after one year and seven months, was organized to review the achievements and future tasks of power institution reforms since the launch of the Moon Jae-in administration.

At the meeting, ① ways to pass the amendments to the National Intelligence Service Act (mainly abolishing domestic intelligence and transferring counterintelligence investigation authority) and the Police Act (mainly implementing the autonomous police system and establishing the National Police Agency) through the National Assembly were explored; ② the status of subordinate legislation under the Criminal Procedure Act and the Prosecutors' Office Act, which will take effect on January 1 next year, was reviewed; and ③ in line with these, plans for organizational restructuring and maintenance of the National Intelligence Service, prosecution, and police were discussed.

President Moon Jae-in is presiding over the 2nd National Intelligence Service, Prosecution, and Police Reform Strategy Meeting at the Blue House on the afternoon of the 21st.

President Moon said, "The National Intelligence Service should be reorganized with new structures and personnel so that it can focus its capabilities solely on the safety of the people and the nation as a specialized overseas intelligence agency on North Korea."

He added, "The National Police Agency must be meticulously designed to ensure the independence of police investigations and enhance investigative capabilities," and urged, "It must launch with completeness so that the public can trust police investigations."

Furthermore, President Moon praised the joint effort of the prosecution and police in establishing human rights protection regulations, saying, "This is a very positive development," and stated, "Going forward, we must maintain the overall national investigative capacity without reduction while fostering a human rights-friendly investigative culture."

He continued, "Although the establishment preparations for the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) in terms of legislation and administration are already complete, its launch has been delayed," encouraging, "I hope the ruling party, government, and Blue House will unite to expedite its launch and cooperate with the opposition, including in recommending the CIO chief."

President Moon acknowledged, "Adjusting the investigative system and introducing the autonomous police system are very challenging tasks as they involve changing systems that have been in place for over 70 years, and related agencies may feel the plans are insufficient," but urged, "Please remember the proverb that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

He emphasized, "Now, legislative matters must be closely coordinated with the National Assembly, and once legislation is enacted, efforts should be made to implement it promptly," adding, "When power institutions achieve balance and checks and organically cooperate, they will serve the people's mandate more thoroughly."

President Moon concluded, "If the first step we take builds trust, we can accelerate our pace," and said, "Until the day we complete the reform of power institutions, let us respect and encourage each other and push forward vigorously."

At the meeting, Park Jie-won, Director of the National Intelligence Service; Choo Mi-ae, Minister of Justice; Jin Young, Minister of the Interior and Safety; and Kim Soon-eun, Chairperson of the Committee on Autonomy and Decentralization, attended and reported on the reform achievements and promotion plans of their respective institutions.

Kim Tae-nyeon, Floor Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea; Han Jeong-ae, Chairperson of the Policy Committee of the Democratic Party; Yoon Ho-jung, Chairperson of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee; Seo Young-kyo, Chairperson of the Administrative Safety Committee; and Jeon Hae-cheol, Chairperson of the Intelligence Committee also attended to discuss the party's and National Assembly's promotion plans.

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