Nationwide Chief Prosecutors Urge Prosecutor General and Senior Officials to Show Responsible Attitude

9-Hour All-Night Debate... "Geomsu Wanbak Will Cause Investigation Gaps and Let Great Evils Run Rampant"
"Democratic Party, Abnormal Use of Agenda Adjustment System... No Deliberation Process"

Participants leaving the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office building in Seocho-gu, Seoul, in the early morning of the 21st after concluding the 'National Chief Prosecutors' Representative Meeting' held by the Democratic Party of Korea to respond to the legislation on 'Complete Removal of Prosecutorial Investigation Rights (Geomsu Wanbak)'.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] Chief prosecutors from prosecution offices nationwide demanded a responsible stance from Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo and senior officials regarding the so-called ‘Complete Removal of Prosecution’s Investigation Rights (Geomsu Wanbak)’ bill being pushed by the Democratic Party.

The nationwide chief prosecutors' representative meeting ended around 4 a.m. on the 21st after a nine-hour heated debate starting at 7 p.m. the previous day. The meeting was attended by 69 senior chief prosecutors from 40 offices.

They stated, "The ‘Geomsu Wanbak bill’ is a ‘Crime Neglect Law’," adding, "What is being stripped away is not the prosecution’s investigation rights but the fundamental rights of the people, which will inevitably lead to the suffering of the public. To prevent the collapse of the criminal justice system, we urge the Prosecutor General and senior officials to once again show a responsible attitude."

They further emphasized, "If the Geomsu Wanbak bill passes, there will be an irreplaceable investigative gap in structural corruption crimes such as corruption, economic crimes, and crimes by public officials, which prosecutors mainly handled, allowing major evils to run rampant," and "Joint investigations between the police and prosecution in major disaster cases will no longer be possible."

They added, "Criminals with power and wealth will easily escape the law, while powerless citizens will increasingly suffer unjust damages without protection of their rights."

In response, Prosecutor General Kim said to reporters on his way to work that day, "I have not received detailed opinions from the chief prosecutors, but I will carefully review and give weight to the conclusions reached after long discussions."

The chief prosecutors also raised issues with the legislative process pursued by the Democratic Party. They pointed out that while the basic law on criminal procedures is being virtually completely revised, no deliberative procedures such as hearings or public forums have been conducted. They said, "The majority party with 172 seats is pushing for the bill’s passage in the National Assembly within just 2 to 3 weeks after its proposal," and "We are deeply concerned that the National Assembly’s agenda adjustment system, which was established to block unilateral legislative attempts by the majority, is being nullified through abnormal means."

Moreover, they expressed strong support for the external control mechanisms allowing public participation in investigations of serious crimes and for regular representative meetings of ordinary prosecutors for internal checks, as proposed earlier at the nationwide ordinary prosecutors’ representative meeting.

The chief prosecutors plan to review measures such as thorough internal inspections and public oversight from the start to the conclusion of investigations and propose these to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office.

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