The government's bills to establish the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency (SCIA) and the Public Prosecution Service passed the Cabinet meeting. The Democratic Party of Korea announced it will convene a plenary session on the 12th to pass the SCIA and Public Prosecution Service bills submitted by the government.
The Cabinet approved the government's SCIA and Public Prosecution Service bills at its meeting on the 3rd. Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, who presided over the meeting, said, "With the determination to complete prosecutorial reform solely from the perspective of the public, we will prepare the best alternatives for remaining issues including supplementary investigation rights through sufficient deliberation and public discourse."
The government proposal narrows the SCIA's investigative scope from nine crime categories to six and unifies the organization under a single investigator rank system. Qualification requirements for the SCIA chief were somewhat relaxed, while the head of the Public Prosecution Service will retain the title "Prosecutor General," and the High Public Prosecution Service system remains unchanged from the original plan. Some Democratic Party lawmakers expressed opposition to using the Prosecutor General title, but consensus was reached through a general assembly meeting to follow the government proposal.
The government bills will be submitted to the National Assembly for deliberation and voting. A Democratic Party official explained, "They are scheduled to be processed at the plenary session on the 12th." The Office for Government Policy Coordination stated, "We plan to do our best to ensure the bills pass the National Assembly promptly, as considerable time is expected for seamless launch preparations." It added, "We will also ensure thorough follow-up measures including legislative matters such as subordinate regulations and the organization, personnel, and buildings for the new agencies."
Having established the legal basis for the Public Prosecution Service and SCIA, the government decided to immediately begin reviewing criminal procedure law issues including supplementary investigation rights. Concerns have been raised that granting supplementary investigation rights to prosecutors in the Public Prosecution Service—the successor to the prosecution—would undermine the principle of separating investigation and indictment and leave room for arbitrary exercise of authority. Conversely, others argue that eliminating such rights would make it difficult to oversee investigative agencies and weaken crime response capabilities.
To address this, the government will conduct "intensive opinion gathering" for two months through next month, centered on the Prosecutorial Reform Task Force under the Office for Government Policy Coordination. The government plans to collect diverse opinions from the public, experts from various fields, crime victims, and civil society through public debates, advisory committees, and opinion polls. The task force will focus on examining cases where supplementary investigations are exceptionally necessary and institutional improvements for the effective operation of supplementary investigation requests.