The National Assembly's Legislative Judiciary Committee has begun reviewing a bill aimed at abolishing the prosecutorial supplementary investigation rights. A related amendment to the special investigation law, which expands the duration and personnel for the second comprehensive special investigation, has passed the bill subcommittee.
On July 10, the committee's first bill subcommittee convened to review three proposed amendments to the criminal procedure law, submitted by lawmakers Kim Yong-min, Park Eun-jung, and Cha Kyu-geun.
Kim Seung-won, the subcommittee chair and a member of the ruling Democratic Party, told reporters after the meeting, "The content of the amendments is extensive and procedurally complex, so we proceeded by receiving a report from the chief expert and examining the overall framework."
The subcommittee focused on reviewing key issues, including the elimination of prosecutors' investigative powers, the relationship between prosecutors and judicial police officers, the prosecutors' authority over special judicial police investigations, and the principles and compliance requirements for investigations. Rather than voting on each clause, the emphasis was on understanding the overall structure and issues of the amendments.
Kim stated, "We have gathered opinions from civic groups, academia, police, prosecutors, and the National Investigation Agency, and we will reflect these in the criminal procedure law amendments."
The committee plans to hold two additional subcommittee meetings early next week to focus on the review of the criminal procedure law amendments. Kim added, "We will expedite the review as much as possible, and if necessary, we will work through the night and postpone other schedules to concentrate on the bill review."
The Democratic Party aims to complete the relevant legal adjustments before the launch of the Public Prosecution Service and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency on October 2. Seo Young-kyu, chair of the Legislative Judiciary Committee, remarked, "The criminal procedure law needs to be established to prepare the enforcement decree, but time is limited. We will conduct the review swiftly while also filling in the content."
However, there are voices within the Democratic Party advocating for retaining some supplementary investigation rights. Lawmaker Hong Gi-won announced plans to propose a bill that includes provisions for maintaining supplementary investigation rights. Kim indicated that if this bill is introduced, it may be reviewed in conjunction with the existing amendments.
Additionally, the subcommittee approved the second comprehensive special investigation law amendment, which extends the special investigation's activity period by 30 days and adds interference with audits to the list of investigation targets.
The amendment also establishes a basis for appointing lawyers with over five years of legal experience to maintain prosecutions for the special investigation. The Ministry of National Defense has been added to the list of requesting agencies, and the number of dispatched officials has been increased from 130 to 150.
Members of the People Power Party boycotted the meeting in protest of the Democratic Party's unilateral selection of committee and special committee chairs in the 22nd National Assembly's second half. The People Power Party opposes the abolition of prosecutorial supplementary investigation rights and is considering proposing legislation to retain or replace them.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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