Kwak Sang-eon, son-in-law of late President Roh, votes against bill stripping prosecutors of investigative powers

Kwak Sang-eon, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker and son-in-law of the late President Roh Moo-hyun, voted against a bill to strip prosecutors of their direct investigative powers when it came to a floor vote in the National Assembly on Friday.

The amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act passed with 175 votes in favor out of 178 members present at the plenary session.

People Power Party lawmakers boycotted the vote, leaving Kwak and Reform Party lawmaker Lee Ju-young as the only two members to vote against the bill. Democratic Party lawmaker Lee So-young abstained.

Shortly after the plenary session, Kwak wrote on Facebook explaining his decision to break with his party's official position. "I could see the suffering that will soon befall the people, and I could hear their tears — I had no other choice," he said.

The Democratic Party had endorsed the Criminal Procedure Act amendment as its official party line on July 24, with the bill banning prosecutors from conducting direct investigations, including supplementary investigative powers.

Kwak and Lee So-young had earlier co-sponsored a separate version of the bill with lawmaker Hong Ki-won that would have preserved some supplementary investigative authority for crimes involving socially vulnerable victims.

At a forum held with Hong on Wednesday, Kwak also directed remarks at Democratic Party acting leader and floor leader Han Byung-do, who had pushed for a full abolition of prosecutorial investigative powers. "You invoked President Roh Moo-hyun in connection with this bill, but building institutions is not about settling personal grievances," Kwak said.