Jeong Jeom-sik, floor leader of the People Power Party, urged reconsideration of the push to abolish prosecutors' supplementary investigation powers, calling it "gyeongsuwandok," a Korean acronym for the police monopolizing all investigative authority, during a meeting with Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho at the National Assembly.
Meeting the minister at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on Monday, Jeong said, "Prosecutors' supplementary investigation powers must be preserved, not for the sake of prosecutors, but to wipe away the tears of victims."
"The purpose of reform was the omnipotent investigative power of prosecutors, so how will a police monopoly over investigations be kept in check?" he said. "Some argue that granting only the right to request supplementary investigations is enough, but the detention period will be extended indefinitely as cases are batted back and forth."
He added, "In cases where a criminal is detained early, the short detention period will make it impossible to even request a supplementary investigation, or prosecutors will face the difficulty of having to request one after the detention is canceled." He criticized the measure as "an ineffective attempt to pull the wool over people's eyes."
Jeong also said, "This is an issue that must be handled thoroughly from the victims' perspective, but it is being treated as material for internal political strife aimed at the Democratic Party's national convention." He pointed out, "Is the venting of frustration by party supporters a priority, while the injustice suffered by victims' families goes unseen?"
In response, the minister said, "The most important thing is that victims do not suffer injustice." He added, "The government's position is to abolish supplementary investigation powers, but I hope the ruling and opposition parties will deliberate on it in the National Assembly."
He also said, "The majority party can process it through a vote, but until it reaches that point, the ruling and opposition parties must consult and hold sufficient dialogue." He urged, "Because there are many livelihood-related bills at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, I ask the opposition party to participate in the committee and actively present alternatives to address public concerns."
After the meeting, the minister told reporters, "Because the government's position has been concluded as abolishing supplementary investigation powers, our basic stance is that we must sufficiently supplement the concerns and create alternatives."
He added, "I believe it is important to create institutional safeguards so that requests for supplementary investigations are effective and the police do not abuse their (investigative) authority." He said, "This can be sufficiently supplemented through legislation."
