President Lee Jae Myung (2nd from L) speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Tuesday. Photo by Yonhap
The Cabinet on Tuesday approved two prosecution reform bills that would dismantle the current prosecution service later this year to separate its exclusive power to both initiate criminal probes and indict suspects.
When promulgated, it would mark a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s prosecution system. Under the new laws, the prosecution office will be shut down in October, 78 years after its establishment in 1948, and two new agencies will exercise indictment and investigate roles, respectively.
The bills on establishing the so-called serious crimes investigation agency and the indictment agency, pushed by the ruling Democratic Party (DP), were passed at the National Assembly last week in a plenary session boycotted by the main opposition People Power Party (PPP).
Under the laws, the new indictment agency will handle only indictments, while investigative powers will be transferred to the newly established serious crimes investigation agency.
The new investigative body will be established under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and will be responsible for probing six major crimes, including corruption, economic offenses, defense industry-related crimes and drug offenses.
The government has been seeking to separate the prosecution service’s authority over both indictment and investigation amid longstanding criticism that the prosecution has abused its exclusive powers by carrying out politically motivated investigations.
The DP has argued that the reform is needed to curb potential political abuse of prosecutorial power, while the PPP has warned it could weaken checks on investigators and increase the risk of political influence.
The two new agencies are set to be established after the abolition of the prosecution office.
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