DPK to Wrap Up Push to Abolish Prosecutors' Supplementary Investigation Rights in Judiciary Committee on the 23rd

The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) decided to complete its review of a revision to the Criminal Procedure Act of the Republic of Korea at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly on the 23rd, with the abolition of prosecutors' supplementary investigation rights as its core provision. The party also set a goal of passing the bill in the National Assembly no later than before the DPK national convention in August.
At a Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 22nd, Han Byung-do, acting party leader and floor leader of the DPK, said, "There is no disagreement on the basic principle that prosecutors do not conduct investigations." The remark is seen as a clear sign that the DPK has set a party line to push ahead with the revision to the Criminal Procedure Act of the Republic of Korea, including the complete abolition of prosecutors' supplementary investigation rights.
The committee's pace is also picking up. On the day, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held its first subcommittee meeting and reviewed three revision bills to the Criminal Procedure Act of the Republic of Korea proposed by Hong Ki-won, Rep. Jeong Jeom-sik and others.
The bill proposed by DPK lawmaker Hong Ki-won would abolish prosecutors' authority to initiate investigations, while allowing supplementary investigations only in some serious cases. In contrast, the bill proposed by People Power Party lawmaker Jeong Jeom-sik suggests broadly maintaining supplementary investigation rights.
As calls have recently grown to keep supplementary investigation rights in place, citing cases such as the Jang Yoon-gi murder case, lawmakers also discussed bills aimed at strengthening victim protection measures. Seo Young-kyo's DPK bill includes the introduction of victims' right to object and a criminal trial participation system.
Kim Seung-won, the DPK lawmaker serving as the ruling party's secretary on the committee, told reporters after the subcommittee meeting, "We will build a system that can verify the investigation process through the digitization of investigation records and evidence materials, and improve investigation quality by standardizing investigation manuals," adding, "We will prepare a comprehensive revision bill that also includes measures to prevent delays in case handling."
The DPK plans to hold an additional subcommittee meeting on the 23rd to finalize the bill, including a provision requiring prosecutors' requests for supplementary investigations to be handled within one month and the creation of an emergency supplementary investigation request right.
Meanwhile, as the ruling and opposition parties agreed to jointly pursue a special counsel probe into the National Election Commission, negotiations over the National Assembly's leadership structure are also gaining momentum. Political observers say that if the National Assembly returns to normal operation, the bill could be put to a plenary vote as early as next week after consultations between the ruling and opposition parties.
[email protected] Song Ji-won Reporter