Han Dong-hoon criticizes Democratic Party plan to strip prosecutors of investigative powers

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon on Wednesday criticized the Democratic Party of Korea's plan to fully abolish prosecutors' supplementary investigative authority, saying the party was "determined to side with murderers and fight against victims and the people."

In a Facebook post Wednesday, Han added that all 161 Democratic Party lawmakers had "fled without a single debate," arguing the party knew it was wrong. "Knowing they are wrong and pressing ahead anyway makes it even worse," he said.

The Democratic Party signaled Wednesday that it would move forward with revisions to the Criminal Procedure Act that would fully strip prosecutors of their supplementary investigative authority.

Han Byung-do, the party's acting leader and floor leader, said at a supreme council meeting Wednesday that the principle of "prosecutors do not investigate" was both the starting point and the completion of prosecutorial reform through the separation of investigation and indictment. "There is no dissent within the party on this fundamental principle," he said. "It is now time to unite the party's collective will."

Han Byung-do added that differences in detail should not be allowed to shake the principle of separating investigation from indictment or serve as a means of reviving prosecutors' investigative powers. "There is only room for vigorous debate on how to build a better system — including mutual checks and cooperation among investigative agencies and measures to protect victims," he said.

Although some voices within the party had called for allowing supplementary investigative authority in limited form, the reaffirmation of the core principles of separating investigation from indictment and abolishing prosecutorial investigative powers is expected to accelerate the push to pass the Criminal Procedure Act revisions.

Han had earlier proposed a public debate with Democratic Party lawmakers on supplementary investigative authority, but the proposal fell through. The party said the decision reflected members' opinions and advice, as well as an internal view that there was no need to give Han a platform.

Han responded by criticizing Democratic Party lawmakers, suggesting they had avoided the debate out of fear of being overwhelmed.