Prime Minister Kim Min-seok walks out of a briefing room at the government complex in Seoul on Thursday. (Yoon Chang-bin/The Korea Herald)
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok walks out of a briefing room at the government complex in Seoul on Thursday. (Yoon Chang-bin/The Korea Herald)

The South Korean government on Thursday endorsed the abolition of prosecutors' remaining authority to conduct supplementary investigations, backing the full removal of the prosecution's investigative powers as the ruling bloc presses ahead with its judicial overhaul.

The decision resolves one of the final outstanding questions surrounding the reform package: Would prosecutors retain limited authority to conduct "further investigations" in exceptional cases after a new crime investigation agency is spun off from the prosecution service in October?

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said the government had concluded that the concept of prosecutors' "further investigation" under the Criminal Procedure Act should be abolished after gathering opinions from various stakeholders.

Kim added that the government would convey its position to the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, which is leading the legislative push, rather than submit its own bill.

Kim's briefing Thursday echoed his remarks at a press conference Monday.

Kim then said, "From a personal viewpoint, I believe that the abolition of the prosecution's power for further investigation is inevitable at this point."

The prosecution, currently with the power to investigate crimes and make indictments, has come under fire for alleged abuses of power in the form of politically motivated false accusations.

The liberal bloc has claimed that President Lee Jae Myung fell victim to such prosecution while he was the opposition leader at a time when prosecutor-turned-politician and then-President Yoon Suk Yeol was in power.

Lee, however, has repeatedly expressed that the complete removal of the prosecution's power — even in "very exceptional cases that have no room for abuse" — could be problematic.

This prompted speculation that the Democratic Party, which has spearheaded the prosecutorial reform with the majority in the National Assembly, had not consulted with the presidential office.

Some pro-Lee faction lawmakers of the ruling party accused Rep. Jung Chung-rae, a hawkish figure who chaired the party until Wednesday, of triggering discord with the presidential office ahead of the convention to elect the party chair.

However, Kim's remarks indicated that Kim was effectively on the same page with Jung as to how the prosecutorial reform should unfold. Following Kim's announcement, Jung said on his Facebook that he "welcomed" the decision of Kim, a potential contender in the chairship race.


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