Public Prosecution Office Act Introduced to National Assembly Plenary Session... Filibuster Begins

Ruling Party Also Pushes for Serious Crimes Investigation Agency Act,
National Assembly Probe into Manipulated Indictments

One of the ruling party's prosecution reform bills, the Public Prosecution Office Act, was submitted to the plenary session of the National Assembly on March 19. The People Power Party is opposing not only this Public Prosecution Office Act, but also the Serious Crimes Investigation Office Act and the plan for a parliamentary investigation into fabricated indictments. The party plans to block these bills through an unlimited debate (filibuster) lasting three nights and four days.

The National Assembly convened a plenary session that afternoon and tabled the Public Prosecution Office Act. This bill abolishes the prosecution’s authority to direct and supervise special judicial police officers, and limits the prosecutors’ official authority by law.

Yonhap News Agency

Under this bill, the Public Prosecution Office will be exclusively responsible for indictments, and it will become possible to dismiss a prosecutor for disciplinary reasons without impeachment proceedings, as grounds for dismissal will be explicitly stated. However, the head of the Public Prosecution Office will still be designated as the “Prosecutor General,” due to the continued presence of the title “Prosecutor General” in Article 89 of the Constitution.

Additionally, the roles of prosecutors in the Public Prosecution Office are limited to: ▲deciding whether to indict and related maintenance matters ▲matters necessary for warrant requests ▲consultation and support with judicial police officers in criminal investigations ▲requests for correct application of the law to the courts ▲direction and supervision of trial execution ▲conducting or supervising lawsuits and administrative litigation in which the state is a party or participant ▲criminal proceeds recovery, and international criminal judicial cooperation.

Kim Yongmin, a Democratic Party lawmaker on the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee who explained the proposal, stated, “Today, the Prosecution Service will be abolished. The corrupt and political prosecution service, which has never shone before the people in the past 78 years, will be abolished today.” He added, “Prosecution reform, which began with former President Kim Dae-jung’s statement, ‘Only when the prosecution stands upright can the country stand upright,’ has been the long-cherished goal of the democratic camp, and a historic reform task for all citizens who long for the end of insurrection.”

Kim went on to say, “Although the prosecution is being abolished, prosecution reform is not over. It will only be completed through the complete separation of investigation and indictment, and the establishment of checks and balances.” The Public Prosecution Office Act will take effect on October 2, and on the same day, both the Prosecution Service and its governing law will be abolished.

One hundred and seven People Power Party lawmakers applied for unlimited debate on the Public Prosecution Office Act. The first speaker was People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sanghyun. One hundred sixty-one lawmakers from the Democratic Party and other ruling coalition parties submitted a motion to end the unlimited debate. As a result, the Public Prosecution Office Act is expected to be put to a vote at 3 p.m. on March 20, twenty-four hours later.

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