Seoul, August 4: South Korea’s cabinet approved a recently passed judicial reform law on Tuesday, which removes the investigation powers from prosecutors. President Lee Jae-myung described this initiative as a significant step towards “judicial normalization,” aiming to create a more balanced and standard judicial system in the country.
The cabinet endorsed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act, which had been passed by the National Assembly last week, although the main opposition party, the People Power Party (PPP), boycotted the vote.
According to a report by the Yonhap News Agency, the recent parliamentary amendment will nearly eliminate the direct investigative powers of prosecutors. In the future, most criminal investigations will be conducted by the police, while the prosecution will primarily focus on litigation and legal proceedings.
During the cabinet meeting, President Lee stated, “It is time to change the long-standing system where the prosecution had extensive powers for both investigation and prosecution.” He emphasized that the new structure aims to separate these powers between different entities to enhance accountability and transparency.
However, the main opposition party has strongly opposed this move. They accuse the government of weakening the judicial system by altering the powers of investigative agencies. The opposition has also called on the president to veto the bill.
The president clarified, “This reform is not intended to weaken any institution, but rather to clearly delineate the roles of investigation and prosecution, making the judicial system fairer and more modern.”
Lee noted that for decades, lawyers have exercised “excessive” authority in bringing charges, creating a peculiar system where they sometimes abused their power to suppress or target certain cases.
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