The measures were announced after Prosecutor General Kim Joon-gyu held a video conference with prosecutors nationwide following burgeoning scandals that linked prosecution officials to decades of bribery through money and other forms.
Their misconduct was exposed in April and again this week by a local TV network that confirmed claims by a former construction businessman, who said he had provided prosecutors with cash, free meals and prostitutes for years in a scheme now known as the "sponsor scandal."
An investigation team that looked at the accusations by the businessman urged punitive action against more than a dozen prosecutors for accepting bribes. The results that were announced, however, were slammed as being too weak, without anyone being fired.
The reform steps announced Friday also did not say if anyone is being punished.
One of the fiercest criticisms against the prosecution has been that it has virtually unbridled power because it has the exclusive right to make indictments with no one to supervise its wrongdoings or keep it in check.
As part of self-reform, the prosecution will adopt a system in which a jury of civilians will decide whether cases are strong enough to press charges.
"We will adopt a new system that fits into our legal environment and practices, taking after the positive aspects of the U.S. grand jury," Kook Min-soo, the chief inspector at the Supreme Prosecutor's Office, said in a press briefing.
Until the new system is officially legislated, the prosecution will operate indictment inspection committees under each of the local prosecutors' offices to deliberate on major cases of bribery, political funding and corruption.
"The bill on grand jury indictment will be simultaneously processed with the justice ministry's plan to expand the current jury system to give legally binding force to juries' decision on court cases," Kook said.
South Korea has been operating a limited jury system in some of the criminal trials since 2008, but the system is still in an experimental stage, and the jury's verdict is not binding and rarely adopted by the court.
Crimes by prosecutors will be investigated separately from other civilian cases by a special prosecutor, who will operate independently and not report to the prosecutor general until the probe is concluded.
"In case of offenses by prosecutors, a special prosecutor will be designated to launch an independent probe, which will be monitored by the civilian inspection committee," Kook said.
The prosecution also proposed dismissing its officials who accept bribes even if there were no favors received in return and to press criminal charges against them.
Prosecutor General Kim, who earlier opposed appointing a special investigator to investigate prosecutors, on Friday gave a public apology and pledged to make "drastic" changes in his organization.
From now on, the prosecution will throw away the wrongful, old-fashioned manners and mindset to bring a breakthrough to the organization. Those who cannot keep up with the change won't be able to stay in the organization anymore," Kim said.//Yonhap
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com