Ruling and Opposition Parties Find Compromise on 'Geomsu Wanbak'... "To Be Processed During April Extraordinary National Assembly" (Comprehensive)

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] The Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party on the 22nd abruptly accepted the legislative mediation proposal for 'Geomsu Wanbak' (complete removal of prosecutorial investigative authority) proposed by National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok and agreed to process it during the April extraordinary session of the National Assembly.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the same day, Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party, and Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, officially signed the agreement containing eight clauses proposed by Speaker Park in the morning.

The eight clauses include ▲separation of the prosecution's direct investigative authority and prosecution rights ▲abolition of direct prosecution investigations ▲reduction of the total volume of direct prosecution investigations by cutting the current five anti-corruption investigation divisions down to three ▲prohibition of investigations deviating from the necessity and identity of crimes ▲formation of a judicial reform special committee with the authority to review bills, discussion of the overall judicial system including the tentative name Serious Crime Investigation Agency and a Korean-style FBI ▲crimes committed by officials of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) fall under the prosecution's duties ▲processing of prosecution reform bills within April ▲and the amendment bills to the Prosecutors' Office Act and the Criminal Procedure Act related to this will be enforced four months after the date of promulgation.

After signing the agreement, Speaker Park said, "We have achieved a dramatic compromise amid extreme confrontation over the prosecution reform law," adding, "Since the gap between the two parties' positions was very wide, it must have been difficult to agree at once, so I thank each of the 300 lawmakers who shared this intention." He continued, "I believe that the legislation according to the agreement will be faithfully and promptly processed in accordance with the spirit of the agreement," and said, "I sincerely hope that the exhausting debate over prosecution reform will stop and that the National Assembly will regain trust by becoming a body for the livelihood and the people."

Floor leader Park said, "The grand principle of separating investigative and prosecutorial rights was accepted this time, and we were able to agree on processing it within April," adding, "It is highly evaluated in that it can further advance and specialize the nation's anti-corruption investigative capabilities, such as the establishment of a Korean-style FBI (Federal Investigation Bureau)."

Floor leader Kwon said, "Although there was much public controversy and opposition, amid the extreme confrontation, Speaker Park's leadership and insight enabled the ruling and opposition parties to reach a smooth agreement," and added, "We will also put our heads together and discuss livelihood issues to bring hope to the people."

The plenary session for processing prosecution reform-related bills is scheduled to be held on the 28th or 29th.

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