Kim Kyoung-soo, a former lawmaker and governor of South Gyeongsang Province who is now vying to be the liberal Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate, pledged Monday to disband South Korea's current prosecutors' office with the goal of separating the public prosecution from politics.
Kim said he would divide the prosecutors' office into two separate agencies according to its two functions -- investigation and prosecution or indictment -- adding that prosecutorial reform is key to ensuring people's basic rights and social justice. He also vowed to expand the authority and organizational scale of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials.
The campaign pledge would be in line with the party's yearslong push for prosecutorial reform.
Kim was sentenced to two years in jail for his involvement in the "Druking" online opinion-rigging scandal in July 2021. He was released on parole in December 2022 and was granted a special pardon in August last year.
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