Prosecution: "Did Not Consider 'Joint Enforcement by Both Parties' in Mediation Proposal... Issues Remain"

Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo / Photo by Jin-hyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The prosecution reiterated its stance on the mediation proposal related to the 'Geomsu Wanbak' (complete removal of prosecutorial investigative authority) bill presented by National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok, stating that "(the proposal) only temporarily postpones the implementation timing of the (existing) bill, but there are still many issues such as potential unconstitutionality," and emphasized, "we will do our best to inform about the unfairness and problems of the bill until the very end when the bill is finally passed and to persuade the National Assembly and the public".

On the afternoon of the 22nd, Ye Se-min, head of the Planning and Coordination Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, told reporters, "The prosecution's direct investigation is temporary, but after one year and six months regarding serious crimes, the prosecution cannot do anything," and added, "I did not expect the ruling and opposition parties to push it through together."

Regarding the leadership vacuum in the prosecution, he said, "We will do our best to ensure there are no problems due to the vacancy," and stated, "The Prosecutor General's resignation has not been accepted, so he is currently maintaining his position. If accepted, the Deputy Prosecutor General is expected to act as interim." Earlier, Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo, Deputy Prosecutor General Park Seong-jin, Seoul High Prosecutor Lee Seong-yoon, Suwon High Prosecutor Kim Gwan-jung, and Daejeon High Prosecutor Yeo Hwan-seop, among other high prosecutors nationwide, submitted their resignations opposing Speaker Park's mediation proposal.

The Democratic Party and the People Power Party expressed their intention to accept Speaker Park's mediation proposal on Geomsu Wanbak that day. Speaker Park included in the mediation proposal a plan to separate the prosecution's direct investigative authority and prosecutorial authority while temporarily maintaining the prosecution's direct investigative authority.

The mediation proposal, consisting of eight parts, aims to separate the prosecution's direct investigative authority and prosecutorial authority, with the prosecution's direct investigative authority being temporary and even in cases of direct investigation, the investigating and prosecuting prosecutors are separated. Investigations beyond the unity and identity of crimes in referred cases are prohibited, but investigations into cases such as prosecution correction requests and complainant objections can be conducted within the scope that does not harm the unity and identity of the case.

The mediation proposal suggests deleting "public official crimes, election crimes, defense industry crimes, and major disasters" from the prosecution's existing six major crimes investigations and states, "When other investigative agencies reach a certain level of crime response capability, the prosecution's direct investigative authority will be abolished." It also proposes, "To reduce the total amount of prosecution's direct investigations, the six special divisions will be reduced to three," and "the number of prosecutors in the remaining three special divisions will also be limited to a certain level."

Director Ye said, "The criteria for supplementary investigations of police-referred cases are not unity and identity," and argued, "If the real culprit is identified in a referred case, the real culprit should be able to be investigated along with accomplices and additional crimes." "Unity and identity are concepts that have never been discussed during the investigation process and are unfamiliar," and asked, "What else can the prosecution do besides writing indictments and non-prosecution documents?"

He said, "There is no legislation in advanced countries that prohibits investigating important crimes that shake the foundation of society, such as corruption, financial, and election crimes," and warned, "The ability to respond to important crimes will significantly deteriorate, and illegality and corruption will run rampant." Regarding the local elections in a month, he added, "(Election crimes) have a statute of limitations of six months, so changes during the statute of limitations will naturally have various impacts."

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