Democratic Party pushes ahead with bill to strip prosecutors of supplementary investigation powers

The Democratic Party of Korea moved Thursday to file a Criminal Procedure Act amendment that would completely strip prosecutors of their supplementary investigation powers. The push comes even as calls to preserve those powers have grown — particularly within opposition circles — following revelations of shoddy and scaled-back police work in the so-called Jang Yun-gi case.

The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee has already begun reviewing a Criminal Procedure Act amendment on the Democratic Party's initiative alone, and some observers say the bill could clear the Assembly as early as this month.

Kim Han-gyu, the Democratic Party's senior deputy floor leader for policy, announced at the party's policy coordination meeting at the National Assembly on Thursday that the party's Criminal Procedure Act reform task force would hold a meeting that afternoon to finalize the amendment. The draft draws on opinions gathered from the party's policy committee, the Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Public Administration and Security Committee.

The bill the task force filed Thursday would fully abolish prosecutors' supplementary investigation powers, leaving only the authority to request supplementary investigations.

Speaking to reporters after the policy coordination meeting, Kim said the party was considering ways to better reflect victims' rights to raise objections and human rights protections in the bill. "We are working on measures to make it more substantive — so that police have no choice but to comply with supplementary investigation requests more than before," he said.

On the Jang Yun-gi case, Kim acknowledged that supplementary investigations had helped uncover shortcomings in the police inquiry but said those powers were not the only solution. "Just as there are systems for recusal, challenge and voluntary withdrawal of judges, I think it may be more important not to assign cases to investigators who have a conflict of interest or from whom impartial investigation cannot be expected," he said.

Meanwhile, the "full-transfer" model — under which all cases would be sent to prosecutors — is not expected to be included in the bill as an alternative to supplementary investigation powers. Park Gyun-taek, a Democratic Party lawmaker on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, said on KBS Radio on Thursday that while he recognized the need to discuss adequate safeguards for exceptional cases where problems could arise, stripping police of the power to close cases without referral — a power granted eight years ago — would risk undermining the progress of reform.

People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok sharpened his criticism on his Facebook page Thursday. "When a criminal becomes president, only criminals are respected. Dismantling the prosecution and stripping supplementary investigation powers — this is ultimately about creating a paradise for criminals," he wrote. He added that the recent rape-murder of a high school girl by Jang Yun-gi had "once again proven how vital prosecutors' supplementary investigations are," and called on the party to "immediately halt the reckless dismantling of the prosecution."

Political observers say the Democratic Party's urgency in pushing through the Criminal Procedure Act amendment is tied to the imminent launch of the Public Prosecution Service and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency. However, voices inside and outside the party have also questioned whether the rush to resolve the supplementary investigation powers issue is being driven by its use as a tool to appeal to the party's hard-line base ahead of the Aug. 17 party leadership election, rather than by genuine policy need.

The Democratic Party task force's Criminal Procedure Act amendment is expected to go before the first subcommittee of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee as early as Friday. The full committee met Wednesday and placed on the agenda amendments jointly filed by Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Yong-min and Rebuilding Korea Party lawmaker Park Eun-jeong, as well as a separate amendment filed by Rebuilding Korea Party lawmaker Cha Gyu-geun. The task force bill is also expected to be referred directly to the subcommittee for consolidated review.

With Democratic Party members having pledged to pass the bill before the Aug. 17 party convention, some observers believe it could clear the Assembly this month. Kim said the committee would begin reviewing the bill and expressed hope that discussions with other parties could proceed quickly. "As for when it can ultimately be passed, we will be able to give a specific timeline once the People Power Party returns to the Assembly and the standing committees are back to normal operation," he said.