SEOUL– President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s transition team on Tuesday demanded an immediate halt to the ruling party’s push to pass legislation that would deprive the prosecution of its investigative powers.
In a statement, the transition team’s political and judiciary subcommittee said it once again expresses “deep concern” over the Democratic Party’s attempt to pass the amendments this month before the new administration takes office.
The amendments are “unconstitutional and unheard of even within the judiciary,” the statement said, adding that “the harm will be done solely to the powerless people.”
The DP has pushed the set of amendments to the Prosecutor’s Office Act and the Criminal Procedure Act to strip the prosecution of its right to investigate six types of crimes.
The right to investigate the remaining crime categories has already been given to the police and a newly established state investigation agency as part of the DP’s bid to reform the prosecution, which has long been accused of power abuse and political meddling.
Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo appeared before a parliamentary meeting Tuesday to make his case against the proposed legislation and to promise improvements to his agency’s services.
“Completely depriving the prosecution of its investigative rights presents a large risk of violating the Constitution,” he said before a subpanel of the parliamentary legislation and judiciary committee.
“It is not appropriate to not allow the prosecution to investigate before alternatives are established to fill the gap in investigation of serious crimes,” he said.
The top prosecutor tendered his resignation on Sunday in protest of the proposed legislation but withdrew it the next day after meeting with President Moon Jae-in, who urged him to serve out his term and fulfill his role.
Earlier Tuesday, Kim suggested a number of legislative measures as possible substitutes for the reform push.
“For example, the National Assembly can enact a special law to ensure fairness and neutrality in investigations by the prosecution,” Kim told reporters.
“Having those in charge of investigations, such as the chief and higher-ranking prosecutors, appear for parliamentary questionings and submit required materials could also be an option,” he said.
Source: Yonhap News Agency