Results of the National Prosecutors' Meeting: "Form a a Special Committee in the National Assembly to Gather Opinions"... "Hasty Promotion Harms the People"

On the afternoon of the 11th, at the press room of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-dong, Seoul, Kim Hu-gon, Chief Prosecutor of Daegu District Prosecutors' Office (left), and Ye Se-min, Director of the Planning and Coordination Department of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, are briefing the results of the nationwide district prosecutors' chiefs meeting.
Photo by Choi Seok-jin

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] On the 11th, at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-dong, Seoul, during the nationwide district prosecutors' meeting chaired by Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo, the district prosecutors clearly expressed their opposition to the Democratic Party's proposed bill to abolish the prosecution's investigative functions and urged the National Assembly to form a special committee to gather diverse opinions on the matter.

After the meeting concluded that afternoon, Daegu District Prosecutor Kim Hu-gon and Supreme Prosecutors' Office Planning and Coordination Department Head Ye Se-min explained the meeting results at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office press room.

Prosecutor Kim stated, "Today, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office held a 'Nationwide District Prosecutors' Meeting' chaired by the Prosecutor General to discuss the progress of the bill to abolish the prosecution's investigative functions as follows."

Prosecutor Kim said, "District prosecutors who oversee frontline offices have keenly felt problems such as being unable to properly punish crimes discovered since the criminal justice system reform in January 2021, delays in truth-finding and case handling, causing confusion and inconvenience to the public. In a situation where these problems have not been resolved, if a bill to abolish the prosecution's investigative functions is hastily pushed forward without public consensus, procedural legitimacy, sufficient discussion, or concrete alternatives, the resulting harm will fall upon the people," he emphasized.

He continued, "Prosecutorial investigations are an essential procedure to clarify the substantive facts and resolve grievances of those involved in cases. If the prosecution's investigative functions are completely abolished, the prosecution will lose its raison d'?tre as an institution responsible for judicial justice and human rights protection, such as being unable to directly hear testimonies from case-related persons."

Prosecutor Kim added, "District prosecutors earnestly request that the National Assembly form a so-called 'Criminal Justice System Improvement Special Committee' to thoroughly collect and discuss broad opinions from experts and the public on not only the prosecution's investigative functions but also various issues surrounding the criminal justice system, and to prepare rational improvement measures for the criminal justice system."

Finally, Prosecutor Kim added, "The prosecution itself will also strive to become a trusted institution by faithfully performing its original duties with a humble attitude."

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