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Constitutional Court / Asia Today DB

A constitutional petition filed by the People Power Party against the Criminal Procedure Act, which abolishes prosecutors' investigative authority, will undergo formal judgment by the Constitutional Court.

According to the legal community on the 26th, the Constitutional Court referred the constitutional petition challenging the constitutionality of partial amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act, filed by the People Power Party on the 13th, to formal trial the previous day. A designated panel of three justices deemed the petition legally valid and referred it to the Full Bench, where all justices deliberate.

The People Power Party stated that it filed the constitutional petition against the Criminal Procedure Act citing the principle of due process, personal liberty, the presumption of innocence, and the right to a speedy and fair trial. The petition also argued that subordinating prosecutors to police investigation results compromises checks and balances within the criminal justice system, thereby violating the principle of functional separation of powers.

The revised Criminal Procedure Act, which abolishes prosecutors' direct investigative authority, was passed on the 31st of last month in a National Assembly plenary session led by the Democratic Party of Korea and approved at a Cabinet meeting on the 4th.

                                                                                                        Son Seung-hyun