On July 27, the ruling and opposition parties engaged in a heated debate over a proposed amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act aimed at abolishing the supplementary investigation rights of prosecutors and the resignation of Minister of Justice Jung Sung-ho. The Democratic Party emphasized the swift processing of the bill to abolish supplementary investigation rights, which is a party stance, while the People Power Party criticized it, claiming it could mark the beginning of a lame-duck period for the Lee Jae-myung administration.
The National Assembly's Legislative Judiciary Committee held a full meeting on the same day, presenting 50 bills for consideration. The People Power Party, having lifted its boycott of the National Assembly's schedule, attended the meeting for the first time and appointed Representative Park Hyung-soo as the opposition secretary.
Both parties demanded the withdrawal of Minister Jung's resignation for different reasons. The Democratic Party called for the completion of prosecutorial reform, while the People Power Party stressed that he should fulfill his role as minister to prevent the abolition of supplementary investigation rights.
Representative Park Ji-won of the Democratic Party stated, "The prosecutorial reform of the Lee Jae-myung administration has entered a successful phase, and it makes no sense to resign at this point. We need to ensure that the police can conduct supplementary investigations on vulnerable social groups through the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency. We should launch the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the Prosecution Service and move forward."
Minister Jung remarked, "I believe that the major framework of prosecutorial reform is largely complete, and now new wine should be put into new bottles. Personally, my health is not very good. I have discussed this aspect extensively with close aides around the president."
In response, Representative Yoon Sang-hyun of the People Power Party pointed out, "Isn't the resignation an expression of helplessness regarding the abolition of supplementary investigation rights? Passing the responsibility to the National Assembly is a dereliction of duty. He must persuade the National Assembly further." He added, "The abolition of supplementary investigation rights could mark the beginning of a lame-duck period for the Lee Jae-myung administration, and if the government hopes for success, it should engage in public discussions like the real estate forum and gather public opinion."
Representative Kwak Gyu-taek also criticized Minister Jung, saying, "There are claims that the ruling party is trying to finalize the abolition of supplementary investigation rights without reasonable discussion due to the ruling party's convention. Isn't it the minister's responsibility to persuade the ruling party and advise the president to exercise the right to request reconsideration?"
Regarding the abolition of supplementary investigation rights, Representative Kwak expressed concern, stating, "We must allow for exceptions where supplementary investigations can be conducted in specific cases to ensure that police investigations are carried out properly from the outset. If we only create a system that allows for requests for supplementary investigations, it will inevitably lead to delayed and inadequate police investigations."
On the other hand, Representative Kim Yong-min of the Democratic Party criticized the proposed amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act, saying, "Even though the government and the National Assembly have established a position to abolish supplementary investigation rights, it seems that there is a separate proposal from the prosecution. Even if the government or the National Assembly sets a position, it does not follow it and calls the proposed bill a 'garbage law.' The only solution is not for prosecutors to conduct direct investigations and supplementary investigations; rather, it is more appropriate to approach it from the perspective of guaranteeing victims' rights."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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