Constitutional Complaint by Sitting Prosecutor Over Law Abolishing Prosecutors' Office Dismissed, as Was Lawyer's Petition

A constitutional complaint filed by a sitting prosecutor claiming that an amendment to the Government Organization Act, which centers on abolishing the Prosecutors' Office, is unconstitutional has been dismissed. The court found that the petition did not meet the requirements for a constitutional complaint. A similar complaint filed by a lawyer was also dismissed.
According to the legal community on the 11th, the Constitutional Court of Korea on the previous day dismissed a constitutional complaint filed last December by Kim Sung-hoon, a senior prosecutor at the Cheongju District Prosecutors' Office. Kim had argued that Article 35 paragraphs 2 and 3 and Article 37 paragraphs 9 and 10 of the Government Organization Act violate the Constitution. The court held that there was no possibility that his basic rights had been infringed and therefore did not rule on whether the provisions themselves are unconstitutional.
The case was not referred to the full bench of nine justices. Instead, a designated panel of three justices issued a unanimous decision to dismiss it. Under the Constitutional Court Act, if a designated panel does not unanimously dismiss a case, it must be sent to the full bench. In this instance, however, the case was concluded at the designated panel stage.
Previously, Senior Prosecutor Kim had argued that the amendment to the Government Organization Act, which provides for abolishing the Prosecutors' Office and converting it into a Public Prosecution Office, exceeds the limits of legislative power. He claimed it strips prosecutors of the investigative authority envisaged for them by the Constitution and infringes their status as prosecutors, thereby violating their basic rights. He particularly stressed that, if the Prosecutors' Office is converted into a Public Prosecution Office when the law takes effect, prosecutors will become public prosecutors without investigative powers, which in turn infringes their "right to hold public office"—that is, the right of citizens to assume public office and have their status guaranteed.
The contested amendment to the Government Organization Act abolishes the existing Prosecutors' Office and establishes a Public Prosecution Office under the Ministry of Justice and a Serious Crime Investigation Agency under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. The relevant provisions passed the National Assembly in September last year and, under the supplementary provisions, will take effect one year after promulgation. If the law comes into force as scheduled, the Prosecutors' Office will be abolished this year.
Meanwhile, a constitutional complaint filed by an attorney surnamed Yoo over the same amendment was also dismissed on the 13th of last month. At that time, the designated panel of the Constitutional Court of Korea stated, "There are no circumstances indicating that the claimant's legal interests or rights have been infringed," and held that the petition was inadmissible because it "lacks self-relatedness to any alleged violation of basic rights."
scottchoi15@fnnews.com Choi Eun-sol Reporter