[Exclusive] Nominee for Legislation Committee Chair Park Kwang-on: "Restarting Special Committee, 'Complete Prosecution Reform' to be Passed Within the Year"

Lee Jae-myung "To prevent exhaustive investigations like Cho Kuk's case, investigation and prosecution must be separated"
Lee Nak-yeon "The separation of investigation and prosecution should be institutionalized within the regular National Assembly session"

Park Kwang-on, head of the Democratic Party of Korea's April 7 By-election Planning Team, is speaking at the 1st April 7 By-election Planning Team meeting held at the National Assembly on the 9th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] The special committee on prosecutorial reform within the Democratic Party of Korea is being reactivated, aiming to pass the so-called 'Geomsu Wanbak' (complete removal of prosecutorial investigation rights) bill within the year. Leading presidential candidates from the ruling party are also supporting the move by emphasizing the separation of investigation and prosecution powers of the prosecution. However, since this issue has faced strong opposition from the conservative opposition, including former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, intense debates are expected ahead of the presidential election.

Park Kwang-on, a Democratic Party lawmaker nominated as the chairman of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, said in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the 26th, "The party's policy is to reactivate the special committee on prosecutorial reform once I am appointed as the chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, and to propose bills at the committee level." He added, "The special committee was delayed because the issue of the chairmanship was unresolved. Once reactivated, the committee's bills must be passed within this year."

He continued, "There must never be human rights violations or case distortions caused by abuse of prosecutorial investigation rights," emphasizing, "Although it is a contentious issue and there may be differences in opinion, it is a path we must take because the public demands it and it aligns with the direction of the times."

Yoon Ho-jung, who was both the chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the special committee on prosecutorial reform, was appointed as the Democratic Party floor leader in April. Since then, due to negotiations over the redistribution of standing committees with the opposition, Park Joo-min, the ruling party's ranking member of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, has been acting as the committee chairman. Last month, the ruling and opposition parties agreed on the redistribution of standing committees, and the appointment of the committee chairman will be processed when the National Assembly plenary session, postponed to the 30th, is held. Since the People Power Party will take over the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee from the second half of the National Assembly after the presidential election, Park will be the last ruling party chairman of the committee in the 21st National Assembly.

The special committee, formed at the end of last year, actively promoted 'Geomsu Wanbak' by proposing bills such as the abolition of the Prosecutors' Office Act and the establishment of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency. However, after the Democratic Party's defeat in the April 7 by-elections and the inauguration of party leader Song Young-gil, the committee went into a lull but has recently reignited.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung said at a talk concert hosted by the Democratic Party's first-term lawmakers' group 'The Mincho' the day before, "I will say a word about prosecutorial reform," adding, "Like Minister Cho Kuk, the way to prevent the prosecution from setting a fixed goal for indictment and investigating everything until they get there, including trivial matters, is to separate investigation and prosecution."

Former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon also conveyed his position on the same day during a meeting with Floor Leader Yoon, saying, "We should institutionalize the separation of investigation and prosecution by the prosecution within the regular National Assembly session. I hope the party's special committee on prosecutorial reform will be reorganized for that purpose."

The core idea is to completely remove the prosecution's investigation rights over six major crimes (corruption, economic crimes, public officials, elections, defense projects, and large-scale disasters) that remain even after the adjustment of police and prosecution investigation rights, and transfer them to a separate agency. On the 17th, Hong Joon-pyo, a People Power Party lawmaker who declared his presidential candidacy, also proposed a pledge to maintain only the prosecution's supplementary investigation function for sustaining public prosecution.

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