Kim Osu Gives Ambiguous Answer When Asked About 'Separation of Investigation and Prosecution'... "The Direction Is Right, But..."

"First, it is important to stabilize the major transformation of the criminal justice system"

Kim Oh-soo, the nominee for Prosecutor General, is attending the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 26th, responding to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Kim Oh-soo, the nominee for Prosecutor General, stated that while the direction of 'separating investigation and prosecution' is correct, the important thing at present is to stabilize the changed criminal justice system.

Kim made this remark on the 26th during a confirmation hearing at the National Assembly in response to related questions from Kim Yong-min, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

Kim Yong-min asked questions such as "Is it appropriate for the National Assembly to investigate cases where criminal charges are found during the national audit?", "What if the National Assembly enacts a law granting investigative authority to the legislative branch?", and "Should judges conduct investigations?" He then presented a pre-prepared PowerPoint (PPT) showing statements by opposition politicians emphasizing past calls for separation of investigation and prosecution or prosecutorial reform for 'checks and balances,' urging, "Let's think about why prosecutors need to conduct investigations."

At the very end of the PPT presented by Kim Yong-min was a statement from when Kim Oh-soo served as acting Minister of Justice during the Ministry of Justice’s national audit, where he said, "Yes, I think it is somewhat inevitable, and ultimately, investigation and prosecution should be separated."

When Kim Yong-min asked, "Do you remember this?" Kim Oh-soo replied, "Yes."

Kim Yong-min then asked, "What do you think about the separation of investigation and prosecution?" and "Do you think separation is the right approach?"

In response, Kim Oh-soo said, "Having briefly worked as a lawyer, it seemed that suspects and lawyers felt the most burden when the prosecutor who investigated the case also prosecuted it," adding, "Ultimately, if the person who investigated also handles prosecution, there are some difficulties. I was also an investigating prosecutor and have done a lot of investigations..."

He continued, "However, what I argued back then was before our criminal justice system underwent a major transformation," and "While that direction is correct now, I think it is important first to stabilize the criminal justice system after this major transformation."

Regarding the 'separation of investigation and prosecution' plan, which could lead to the ruling party's push for 'Geomsu Wanbak' (complete removal of prosecutorial investigative authority), he showed a cautiously positive attitude by saying "the direction is correct," but it can be interpreted that he opposed immediate implementation before the criminal justice system, changed by amendments to the Prosecutors' Office Act and the Criminal Procedure Act, is fully established.

He added, "Looking at statistics, there are about 2.5 million suspects. Among them, about 10,000 cases are currently investigated and prosecuted by the prosecution," and said, "I thought it might be better to review how much to reduce the number of suspects who are investigated and prosecuted, which is about 10,000."

Earlier, in a written response submitted to the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee, Kim Oh-soo gave a similar answer when asked about his stance on the separation of investigation and prosecution.

At that time, he said, "The adjustment of investigative authority and the new criminal justice system, including the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, which were prepared amid numerous difficulties, have been implemented from this year and are just beginning to settle in. I think the most urgent task is to quickly stabilize this system to alleviate public inconvenience."

He added, "Also, it is important that in-depth discussions among experts in academia and the legal community and public consensus are prerequisites, and that the nation's anti-corruption response capabilities are not weakened."

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