'I'll take responsibility by dying quickly': Columnist Heo Ji-ung speaks out against abolition of prosecutors' supplementary investigation rights

Columnist Heo Ji-ung has continued to speak out against the Democratic Party of Korea and the Lee Jae Myung administration's decision to abolish prosecutors' supplementary investigation rights.

On Tuesday, Heo wrote on his Instagram: "The words we pompously spat at the world, your art, our writing, and the people we supported have brought things to this point. This was truly a last line. It is too hard to bear — let us take responsibility by dying quickly." The post conveyed his sense of devastation.

Earlier, after the Democratic Party-led National Assembly passed an amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure on Friday that would completely strip prosecutors of their investigation rights, Heo warned, "I oppose the amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure abolishing supplementary investigation rights. This is a last line even among the erratic moves of the Democratic Party's hard-liners."

He then declared, "If the president does not exercise a veto, I will no longer support the ruling party or the president."

Heo argued that strengthening police capacity and protecting victims must come before abolishing supplementary investigation rights. "No one can be held responsible for the chaos and historical regression that will result from abolishing supplementary investigation rights," he said. "At this point, the only thing that can stop this is the president's veto."

The government, however, deliberated and approved the amendment at a Cabinet meeting held at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday, presided over by President Lee Jae Myung.

President Lee said of the amendment, "There is much controversy, but it is difficult to see this bill as unconstitutional or as a situation serious enough to deny the National Assembly's legislative authority on grounds of infringing on the administration's inherent powers." He added, "Exercising a veto is not something one can do simply because of a difference of opinion."

Kim Jin-ju (a pseudonym), the victim in the Busan kick assault case, left a comment on Heo's post saying, "I oppose judicial reform that excludes crime victims."