SEOUL– The Ministry of Justice on Friday retracted some aggressive reform measures aimed at curtailing prosecutors’ investigative power, following the prosecution’s strong protest.
The rollback came to light when the ministry made an advance notice of the revised rules on the operation and structure of the prosecution service.
Seeking the minister’s approval before launching an investigation, the most controversial reform measure, was removed from the plan.
To prevent human rights violations during investigations, a team dedicated to the matter will be established in eight district prosecutors offices nationwide and a new corruption investigation team will be set up at the Busan District Prosecutors Office.
Last week, the Supreme Prosecutors Office (SPO) refused the reform measures pushed by the ministry, calling them simply “not acceptable.”
It said demanding prosecutors at branch offices obtain permission from the justice minister in advance of launching investigations could “seriously undermine the political neutrality and independence of the prosecution.”
The ministry’s plan is part of the prosecution reform drive by the Moon Jae-in government that has focused on curbing prosecutors’ outsized power and diffusing it among other agencies — the police and a new agency tasked with going after crooked government officials.
As part of the plan, the investigative scope of the prosecution has been limited to six categories of serious crimes — corruption, economy, public servants, elections, defense business and large-scale accidents.
District prosecutors offices and their branches, which do not have a team dedicated to those crimes, still need to get approval from the prosecutor general for investigations.
The ministry will gather opinions from government agencies about the revision until next Tuesday before sending it to the Cabinet for further legislative action.
Source: Yonhap News Agency