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Democratic Party Lawmakers Hong Ki-won, Gwak Sang-eon, and Park Hee-seung, alongside 11 fellow party members, listen to testimony from a crime victim during a forum titled "Desirable Direction for Amending the Criminal Procedure Act from a Crime Victim's Perspective," held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on July 23. / Photo courtesy of Yonhap News Agency

The Democratic Party of Korea is accelerating legislative procedures under a party platform to abolish prosecutors' supplementary investigation power, but internal friction shows no signs of abating as concerns over the potential side effects of the move persist both within and outside the party. In particular, criticism is mounting that the party is pushing ahead with its rigid stance even as public opinion shifts toward retaining the investigative authority due to growing distrust in police capabilities following the Jang Yoon-gi case.

According to political sources on July 23, the Democratic Party reaffirmed its commitment to completing prosecution reform under the principle of separating investigation and prosecution. Han Byung-do, acting party leader and floor leader, stated during a meeting that day, "Completing prosecution reform by separating investigation and prosecution is a firm national task of the sovereign citizens' government," emphasizing, "The Democratic Party will neither retreat nor falter on this principle."

Although the need to maintain supplementary investigation power was raised after distrust in police investigation capabilities mounted in the wake of the Jang Yoon-gi case, the Democratic Party leadership continues to press the accelerator. The party previously held a policy caucus in the form of a public hearing involving experts for further deliberation, but no brakes were applied. Observers in the political sphere expect the Democratic Party to adopt the relevant bill as its official platform shortly and attempt to pass it before its August 17 national convention.

The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee is also holding a bill review subcommittee to examine proposed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act. These include a bill introduced by Representative Hong Ki-won of the Democratic Party, which proposes retaining a portion of supplementary investigation authority solely under exceptional circumstances.

However, as party leadership has explicitly upheld the principle of separating investigation and prosecution, it remains uncertain to what extent proposals for partial retention will be reflected in the final draft. Kim Seung-won, head of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's first subcommittee, met with reporters after the meeting and said, "We reconfirmed the principle of separating investigation and prosecution based on the rule that 'prosecutors do not investigate,'" adding, "We discussed how to embody this in statutory language and how to prevent investigative gaps caused by the abolition of supplementary investigation power."

Meanwhile, arguments highlighting the need for safeguard mechanisms to protect victims continue to emerge within the party. Speaking at a forum titled "Desirable Direction for Amending the Criminal Procedure Act" held that day, Representative Hong remarked, "It is regrettable that leaving even a fraction of investigative power to prosecutors is criticized as anti-reform and anti-democratic," explaining, "The reason partial retention of supplementary investigation power is necessary is to strengthen protection for crime victims and the public."

Representative Gwak Sang-eon also pointed out, "The purpose of the judicial system and investigations is to protect crime victims, safeguard the public against crime, and uncover the truth of incidents," adding, "Currently, the ends and means have been inverted. Depriving prosecutors of investigative power itself must not become the end goal."

                                                                                                             Kim Dong-min