Lawmakers from the People Power Party (PPP) on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee called on the 29th for the formation of an agenda mediation committee, pushing back against the Democratic Party of Korea's forced processing of a Criminal Procedure Act amendment centered on abolishing prosecutors' supplementary investigation rights.
PPP committee members including Park Hyung-soo, Yoon Sang-hyun, Kim Min-jeon, Kim Tae-kyu, and Joo Jin-woo held a press conference at the National Assembly that day. "Supplementary investigation rights are the last safety mechanism for uncovering the substantive truth when police investigations fall short," they said. "If they are abolished, evidence missed by police will be buried, victims will lose a place to appeal, and violent criminals will slip through the legal net."
They defined the Democratic Party's handling of the bill as "legislative violence" and sharply criticized it. "The Democratic Party held subcommittee meetings on its own every week to wage a speed battle, and finally reached the point of unilaterally forcing it through in the subcommittee," they said. "They made PPP members serve only as props in a scripted play."
They pointed out that the complementary measures proposed by the Democratic Party can never replace supplementary investigation. Regarding the plan to establish a dedicated supplementary investigation department within the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, they said it "makes discovering the substantive truth even more distant." They also questioned the plan to refer all cases involving seven types of crimes against socially vulnerable people, asking, "What about victims outside the seven major crimes?"
They further expressed concern that "the Democratic Party's 'making supplementary investigation requests substantive' is a fiction," adding, "A request is only a request. If police delay or respond only in form, cases will drift and the statute of limitations will run out."
The PPP plans to submit a request to form an agenda mediation committee on the Criminal Procedure Act amendment at the full Legislation and Judiciary Committee meeting held that day. "The ruling and opposition parties should hold public hearings together to fully gather opinions from the legal community, investigation sites, and victims," they said. "An agenda mediation committee should be formed to guarantee the 90-day review period in line with the intent of the legal provisions."
