Civic group filed complaint; police dismissed it on Nov. 3
![Democratic Party lawmakers photograph the scene on their phones as the National Assembly passes an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act abolishing prosecutors' supplementary investigation rights at a plenary session of the July extraordinary session on July 31. [Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/11/12/rcv.YNA.20260731.PYH2026073114990001301_P1.jpg)
Police have dismissed a complaint alleging that the Democratic Party of Korea's adoption of a party platform to abolish prosecutors' supplementary investigation rights constituted an abuse of authority, ruling that the charges did not hold.
Seoul's Yeongdeungpo Police Station said Thursday it dismissed and declined to refer the case on Nov. 3. The complaint was filed by a civic group, the People's Livelihood Countermeasures Committee, against 160 Democratic Party lawmakers, including floor leader Han Byung-do, and National Assembly Speaker Jo Jeong-sik on charges of abuse of authority, obstruction of the exercise of rights, and obstruction of business.
A dismissal indicates that the case either lacked the conditions required for investigation or that no crime had been committed in the first place.
Police determined that a lawmaker's act of designating a specific agenda item as a party platform and ratifying it does not constitute abuse of authority or obstruction of the exercise of rights.
On the obstruction of business charge, the complainant argued that adopting the platform to abolish supplementary investigation rights had interfered with the work of police and prosecutors. Police rejected that claim, finding that the functions of police and prosecutors fall under the category of "public duties" rather than "business" as defined under the obstruction of business statute, and therefore the charge could not stand.
newday@heraldcorp.com
