"Prosecutor General Also Required to Attend National Assembly"... Ministry of Justice Pushes for Prosecutorial System Reform (Comprehensive)

Neutrality Compromise vs No Exceptions... Prosecution Expects Backlash Over "Investigation Direction Interference"

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Ministry of Justice is pushing to make it mandatory for the Prosecutor General to appear before the National Assembly. The Prosecutor General has never appeared for Q&A sessions due to concerns that such appearances could undermine the neutrality of prosecution investigations. In the past, the prosecution expressed through policy research that "securing neutrality and fairness is more important than the controversy over whether to appear before the National Assembly." The Ministry of Justice plans to use this as a stepping stone to establish a "prosecution system for the people through checks and balances," but severe opposition within the prosecution is also expected.

According to the legal community on the 22nd, the Ministry of Justice recently prepared a performance management implementation plan that includes "reviewing the mandatory appearance of the Prosecutor General before the National Assembly within this year" as a measure to enhance public trust in the prosecution, and reported it to the National Assembly and others. The reason for establishing this policy is the need to organize such a system so that the prosecution can be fair and transparent in line with public expectations to restore public trust in the prosecution.

The issue of whether the Prosecutor General should appear before the National Assembly was first raised in political circles. It was briefly included in President Moon Jae-in's election pledge as part of reforming power institutions. Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk also stated, "I believe that control by the elected power, the National Assembly, is absolutely necessary," and added, "Since the issue of the Prosecutor General's appearance before the National Assembly is linked to the Minister of Justice's appearance, we will look into it."

However, concerns have persisted that if the Prosecutor General directly attends plenary sessions or standing committee meetings of the National Assembly and answers detailed questions from lawmakers, political neutrality could be compromised. In particular, answers from the Prosecutor General regarding individual cases could be perceived as political stances, potentially influencing investigations.

In the past, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office considered the grounds for "the National Assembly's demand for the Prosecutor General's appearance" through policy research. At that time, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office stated, "Regarding the government committee system mentioned in the Constitution and laws, the Prosecutor General cannot simply be regarded as a government committee member," and added, "After comparing heads of external agencies of each administrative department and the Prosecutor General, even if the prosecution is an auxiliary agency of the Minister of Justice, it is not a superior-subordinate relationship. Therefore, securing the prosecution's political neutrality and fairness is more important than the controversy over whether to appear."

On the other hand, there were also many voices of opposition. The reason is that the Prosecutor General cannot be an exception when the National Assembly, representing the people, requests answers. The logic is that it can no longer be bound by precedent when the Minister of Justice appears before the National Assembly and answers related questions on behalf of the Prosecutor General. The background for the Ministry of Justice's official discussion of making the Prosecutor General's appearance before the National Assembly mandatory after Minister Park Beom-gye's inauguration is the same.

There have been cases where the Prosecutor General appeared before the National Assembly. In March 2018, then Prosecutor General Moon Moo-il appeared before the National Assembly's Special Committee on Judicial Reform. However, this occasion was limited to expressing the prosecution's position on institutional reforms such as the adjustment of investigative authority between the police and prosecution. Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl also had an opportunity to appear before the National Assembly. During the job suspension incident last year, with support from lawmakers of the People Power Party, Yoon planned to appear before the National Assembly to explain the background and facts of the job suspension decision and his stance on the issue, but it was canceled due to opposition from ruling party lawmakers in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

Concerns within the prosecution are high regarding the Ministry of Justice's policy. It is interpreted as an intention to call the Prosecutor General to the National Assembly to interfere with the direction of investigations, despite the claim to avoid political prosecutors. A prosecution official criticized, "Requests from the National Assembly or committees are limited to the Prime Minister, cabinet members, and government committee members, none of which apply to the Prosecutor General," and added, "This policy contradicts the repeated emphasis on human rights investigations such as the prohibition of disclosing suspect information, and the neutrality of prosecution investigations will rapidly collapse."

However, the Ministry of Justice plans to conduct the main discussion on the mandatory appearance of the Prosecutor General before the National Assembly in the second half of the year. This is interpreted as considering the political controversy and opposition within the prosecution that could arise if it is pushed hastily during the Prosecutor General vacancy situation.

A lawyer who is a former judge said, "Although a bill to make the Prosecutor General's appearance before the National Assembly mandatory has been proposed in the National Assembly, it is a broad issue that requires complex review of the National Assembly Act, the Prosecutors' Office Act, and others. Since political controversy may continue regardless of regime changes, it will be difficult to push forward easily."

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