Geum Tae-seop: "During Moon Regime, Special Investigation Units Expanded, Now It's Complete Prosecution Reform... This Is Hypocrisy"

"If the system is changed as a punitive measure, neutrality will be compromised"

Geum Tae-seop, former member of the Democratic Party of Korea / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Former Democratic Party lawmaker Geum Tae-seop recently criticized the Democratic Party's insistence on pushing forward the 'Geomsu Wanbak' (an abbreviation for the complete removal of prosecutorial investigative authority), calling it a "shameless act."

On the 12th, Geum wrote on his Facebook, "After the Cho Kuk incident, they say they will strip investigative authority as a form of retaliation, so isn't it no wonder they are being accused of double standards?" he criticized.

He continued, "The so-called 'Geomsu Wanbak' advocated by current Democratic Party lawmakers is difficult to support either ethically or policy-wise," adding, "The Democratic Party government maximized its use of the prosecution when it was in power, but now that the prosecution is not obedient and the administration is about to change hands, they want to strip the prosecution's investigative authority. This is not only a contradictory and inconsistent act but also shameless."

He further stated, "Those who had little understanding of the nature of power institutions at the beginning of the administration held the positions of Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs and Minister of Justice, shouting for prosecutorial reform with their mouths, but in reality, they expanded the prosecution's special investigation units to an unprecedented scale," emphasizing, "The fact that the prosecution's special investigation units grew to their largest size during the Moon Jae-in administration is a fact that no one in the Blue House or within the Democratic Party could refute at the time."

Geum added, "Changing the prosecution system in a retaliatory manner like this has a very bad effect of undermining the neutrality of power institutions itself," and "The delicate distribution of investigative authority between the prosecution and police was ruined because it was done for other purposes."

He also pointed out problems with the adjustment of investigative authority between the prosecution and police. He said, "The prosecution organization has 10,000 members, and the police organization has 150,000," and criticized, "If abuse of power occurs, which side would cause greater damage? This is truly a foolish act."

The Democratic Party is currently advocating for 'complete separation of prosecution and investigation' (Geomsuwanbak), arguing that the separation of investigative authority should continue even for the six major crimes where the prosecution can initiate investigations directly. / Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, under the revised Criminal Procedure Act and Prosecutors' Office Act, which have been in effect since January last year, investigative authority between the prosecution and police was adjusted once. As a result, the scope of direct investigation by the prosecution is currently limited to six major crimes (corruption, economic crimes, public officials, elections, defense business, and major disasters, as specified by presidential decree).

However, the Democratic Party is pushing for a further adjustment of prosecutorial investigative authority. They argue that even for the six major crimes, the prosecution's investigative authority should be completely separated to achieve 'Geomsu Wanbak.'

The Democratic Party plans to decide whether to adopt the push for Geomsu Wanbak as a party stance at a party members' meeting on the 12th.

Meanwhile, the People Power Party has opposed the Democratic Party's move to push for Geomsu Wanbak.

On the 11th, Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' and criticized, "It is unacceptable for the Democratic Party to unilaterally pass (the Geomsu Wanbak bill)," adding, "It is unacceptable to drastically change the national criminal justice system like this less than a year after the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency was implemented."

He also claimed, "The reason they want to strip all prosecutorial investigative authority is because they are afraid they will become the targets themselves."

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