Ruling Party Says Prosecutorial Reform Is Being Coordinated Behind the Scenes, Vows Firm Response to ‘Indictment Cancellation Deal’ Claims

[The Financial News] The Democratic Party of Korea stated on the 13th that it is engaged in "behind-the-scenes coordination" over bills to establish the Serious Crime Investigation Agency and the Public Prosecution Office, which have sparked not only disagreements between the party and the government but also internal strife within the party. The party also warned it would respond "strongly and firmly" to recent claims that the government traded President Lee Jae-myung’s indictment cancellation for retaining supplementary investigative powers.
At the on-site Supreme Council meeting in Sunchang, North Jeolla Province, Democratic Party of Korea leader Jung Chung-rae said, "As I have repeatedly emphasized, prosecutorial reform is the banner and symbol of the Lee Jae-myung administration and the Democratic Party of Korea." He added, "As party leader, I will do my utmost to fine-tune the reform in line with public expectations so that your aspirations do not turn into disappointment."
Previously, hardline lawmakers on the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, including Choo Mi-ae and Kim Yong-min, obstructed progress on the bill to establish the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the Public Prosecution Office, even though it had been finalized in talks among the party, government, and presidential office. They continued to insist on a complete abolition of supplementary investigative powers. Because they serve as the chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the ruling party’s secretary on the committee, respectively, the party’s plan to pass the bill at a plenary session this month has begun to face setbacks. This appears to have prompted Jung to step in personally to persuade them.
The Democratic Party of Korea also dismissed as a "conspiracy theory" speculation in some quarters that the party agreed to retain supplementary investigative powers, thereby delaying follow-up prosecutorial reform bills, in exchange for canceling President Lee’s indictments related to the Daejang-dong development corruption scandal and other legal risks.
Han Byung-do, the parliamentary leader who heads the party’s ad hoc Special Committee for a National Investigation into Fabricated Prosecutions and Dismissal of Indictments under the Yoon Suk Yeol Administration, condemned such claims as coming from "dark forces that are misleading the public about prosecutorial reform." He warned, "I hope they will quickly realize that in the Republic of Korea under the Lee Jae-myung administration, there can be no coexistence with such forces."
jiwon.song@fnnews.com Song Ji-won Reporter