Jung Chung-rae: Granting prosecutors 'supplementary investigation request right' means abolishing supplementary investigation power

By Joo So-hyun, The Herald Business

Jung Chung-rae, the former Democratic Party of Korea leader who has pushed for the complete abolition of prosecutors' supplementary investigation power, said Thursday that "talking about granting a supplementary investigation request right means abolishing the supplementary investigation power." He also again shrugged off claims that the government had asked the party in May to push through legislation stripping prosecutors of that power, saying, "No one called me asking to get it done in May."

Jung made the remarks while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a Democratic Party lawmakers' workshop in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, held to prepare for the second half of the 22nd National Assembly. "If people misunderstand the difference between supplementary investigation power and a supplementary investigation request right, they might mistakenly think the proposal is about granting supplementary investigation power," he said.

Jung said his position was unequivocal. "It is my firm and unwavering principle that supplementary investigation power must be completely abolished," he said, adding that doing so "is fully consistent with the prosecutorial reform principle of separating investigation from indictment."

Jung said prosecutors could still exercise oversight through mechanisms such as an emergency supplementary investigation request right and a fact-verification right. "Within the scope where prosecutors do not conduct investigations themselves, they can ask police to verify facts, request supplementary investigation when something is insufficient, summon the investigating police officer for confirmation when time is short, or call in a suspect or perpetrator for verification," he said.

"Investigation and verification are different things," he added. "Even if supplementary investigation power is completely abolished, the concerns people raise will not materialize. The moment you grant supplementary investigation power, there is room for additional, planned and retaliatory investigations across the board."

The remarks came in response to comments by former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, a rival in the party leadership race, who had raised the issue of a supplementary investigation request right earlier that day on CBS Radio. Kim said he had discussed the matter with Jung on multiple occasions, and that Jung himself had repeatedly said a supplementary investigation request right was "something that should be done."

Jung again shrugged off claims that the government had in May urged the party to pass an amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure centered on abolishing supplementary investigation power, only to be turned down. "Asking the party would mean asking the party leader or the floor leader," he said. "I have never heard such a proposal, and I have no memory of it."

He said he had checked with floor leader Han Byung-do, who also had no recollection of it. "Not remembering is closer to it not having happened," Jung said. He added that for legislation to move forward, a bill drafted by the prosecutorial reform task force would need to be formally submitted so that lawmakers could review it clause by clause and discuss it at a general assembly meeting — and that no such bill had been brought forward.

Jung turned the question around, asking why, if a bill had been drafted in May, it had not been submitted. "It was election season, with candidate nominations underway — it was physically impossible to convene the National Assembly in May and amend the Code of Criminal Procedure," he said. "The party was waiting for the bill to be submitted."

Meanwhile, Jung declined to give a direct answer on when he would decide whether to run for party leader, saying only that he was "still carefully weighing it."