Ruling Party and Government Consider Amending Prosecutor Quota Act to Reduce Number of Prosecutors

[Financial News] The DPK and the Lee Jae Myung administration have left open the possibility of amending the Prosecutor Quota Act to reduce the number of prosecutors whose investigative functions will be eliminated when the Serious Crime Investigation Agency and the Public Prosecution Office are launched on October 2.
Lee Yong-woo, a DPK spokesperson, met with reporters at the National Assembly Communication Hall on the 13th and disclosed the results of the Senior Party-Government Council’s discussions.
The spokesperson stated, "It is true that concerns were raised about keeping the number of prosecutors unchanged when their investigative functions are being abolished. The party and government sufficiently shared an understanding of these views and discussed that this is an issue that needs to be reviewed, and that if final adjustments are necessary, they would require an amendment to the law."
The proposed structure of the Public Prosecution Office is set out in a presidential enforcement decree. By contrast, the Prosecutor Quota Act, which determines the number of prosecutors, is a statute and therefore takes precedence over a presidential enforcement decree. The point is that the Prosecutor Quota Act must first be amended if the number of prosecutors is to be reduced through a presidential enforcement decree.
The party and government also agreed to actively consider changing the name of the “Judicial Control Division” in the proposed Public Prosecution Office structure, recently criticized by President Lee Jae Myung, to names such as the “Division for Reviewing Cases Not Referred for Prosecution.” They will also consider abolishing posts such as the Criminal Affairs Planning Officer and the Serious Crime Planning Officer.
The Senior Party-Government Council also discussed measures to stabilize people’s livelihoods during Chuseok. In particular, the government plans to devote 1.93 billion won in budget support and supply a total of 185,000 tons (t) of 19 major holiday goods, making every effort to stabilize prices. Key discounted items include agricultural products such as napa cabbage, radishes and apples; livestock products such as beef, pork, chicken and eggs; and seafood such as mackerel and squid. Discount rates vary by item.
The party and government also established a strategy for passing priority bills during the fourth quarter of this year. They plan to focus their capabilities on passing within the year the Special Act on Mega Special Zones and other legislation to provide full support for mega-projects. In addition, noncontroversial bills related to the people’s livelihoods and the economy will be processed swiftly through agreement between the ruling and opposition parties. For contentious bills, the government plans to actively gather differing views, develop reasonable alternatives, persuade the opposition and pass them within the year.
[email protected] Kim Hyeong-gu Reporter