Ruling party, gov't vow stronger police reform than prosecution overhaul

The Democratic Party of Korea and the government have signaled they will push ahead with sweeping police reform.

Democratic Party spokesperson Lee Yong-woo made the announcement to reporters at the National Assembly immediately after a high-level ruling party-government consultative meeting held Sunday at the prime minister's Seoul residence in Samcheong-dong.

According to Lee, party leader Kim Min-seok expressed strong resolve for police reform at the meeting. "Police reform must proceed more forcefully than the prosecution overhaul," Kim said. "We will not let this pass with a half-hearted approach."

Kim also called on police to pursue reform proactively, preemptively and autonomously, urging that "police investigations must also be thorough so that no criticism or complaints arise."

The ruling party and government also reviewed preparations for the launch of the new Serious Crime Investigation Agency and the Public Prosecution Service, set to be established Oct. 2 alongside the abolition of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. They agreed to actively consider renaming the Public Prosecution Service's controversial "judicial control division" to the "non-referral case review division."

President Lee Jae Myung had directed the Ministry of Justice on Thursday to revise the name of the judicial control division — the unit responsible for reviewing cases that police decline to refer to prosecutors — after the designation sparked debate.

The ruling party and government also said they would discuss abolishing the positions of criminal affairs planning officer and serious crime planning officer that had been included in the proposed organizational structure of the Public Prosecution Service.

Separately, the ruling party and government agreed to expand the supply of key seasonal goods to record levels and increase discount support to stabilize prices ahead of the Chuseok holiday.

"We will commit 193 billion won ($144 million) to discount support — more than double last year's 90 billion won budget," Lee said.

Lee added that discount limits on agricultural and livestock products would be lifted and the discount period extended beyond the Chuseok holiday, saying consumers would receive significantly more generous discounts this holiday season than in previous years.

Key discounted items include cabbage, radish, apples, beef, pork, chicken, eggs, pollock, mackerel and squid.

"We will further strengthen price stabilization efforts by supplying a total of 185,000 tons of 19 key seasonal goods during the holiday period," Lee said.