Song Eon-seok Vows Filibuster as Ruling Party Pushes Ahead with Prosecution Reform Bills

As an agreement between the party, government, and presidential office regarding so-called prosecution reform—such as the establishment of the Prosecution Office and the High-Level Crime Investigation Office—has been reached, the People Power Party has moved into a blocking stance. The People Power Party announced that if the ruling party pushes through the relevant bills at the National Assembly plenary session on March 19, they plan to counter with an unlimited debate (filibuster).

Song Eon-seok, floor leader of the People Power Party, met with reporters at the National Assembly on the morning of March 18 and stated, "Just as the ruling party's judicial reform was actually a destruction of the judicial system, this bill amounts not to prosecution reform but to the destruction of the prosecution itself." He added, "If the two bills are brought to the plenary session tomorrow, the People Power Party will launch a filibuster in protest."

Song Unseok, Floor Leader of the People Power Party, is arriving at the National Assembly on March 18, 2026. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

Floor leader Song continued, "Although there has been much debate within the ruling camp until now, I see this as being coordinated in connection with President Lee Jae-myung preparing the groundwork to cancel the prosecution against himself." He went on to say, "This bill has been created to erase the criminal acts of President Lee and some other ruling party figures."

The ruling party plans to process the High-Level Crime Investigation Office bill at the full meeting of the Public Administration and Security Committee held on the morning of March 18. Previously, at the subcommittee meeting held the previous afternoon, the High-Level Crime Investigation Office bill was passed under the initiative of the ruling party, despite the absence of People Power Party lawmakers.

The High-Level Crime Investigation Office bill to be discussed at the committee meeting today includes the establishment of the office under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, as well as the creation of local branches in each province and metropolitan city. Furthermore, the investigative scope of the office will cover six major types of crime: corruption, economic crimes, narcotics, defense projects, national protection, and cybercrime. Notably, the provision in the previous government proposal requiring prosecutors to be notified when an investigation is initiated has been deleted from this bill, in order to block prosecutors from intervening in investigations. This is intended to prevent the possibility of indirect prosecutorial involvement through the Prosecution Office.

If the High-Level Crime Investigation Office bill passes the Public Administration and Security Committee meeting, the ruling party plans to process both the Prosecution Office bill and the High-Level Crime Investigation Office bill at the full meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee later in the afternoon. Previously, the Prosecution Office bill also passed the first subcommittee of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee the day before, led by ruling party lawmakers while People Power Party lawmakers were absent.

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