Han Dong-hoon accuses Democratic Party of siding with criminals over victims

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon on Monday criticized the Democratic Party of Korea's push to abolish prosecutors' supplementary investigative powers, saying the move amounted to siding with criminals over victims.

"The Democratic Party used to side with criminals through connections — now it is doing so through legislation," Han wrote on his Facebook page Monday.

Han directed his remarks at Seo Young-gyo, chair of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, who has been leading the push to strip prosecutors of supplementary investigative authority. "Lawmaker Seo has sided with criminals before," Han said, alleging that Seo used her position to pressure a judge seconded to the National Assembly to reduce the sentence of an acquaintance convicted of a sex crime. Han said the allegation was confirmed by emails and other related materials.

Han also took aim at the Democratic Party's proposed amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure, saying the bill quietly planted a "hidden bomb" that would enable unlimited emergency arrests. The amendment would change a requirement that police obtain prosecutor approval within 12 hours of an emergency arrest to a mere after-the-fact notification. "Lawmaker Seo is insisting that is not what it means — only because she got caught," he said.

Under the current Article 200-3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a judicial police officer who carries out an emergency arrest must "immediately obtain the approval of a prosecutor." The ruling party's proposed amendment would change that language to require that the officer "immediately notify a prosecutor."

"This is the person who wants to chair the Legislation and Judiciary Committee," Han said. "The state must stand on the side of victims and innocent citizens."