Seoul, February 24 – The South Korean government has revised bills establishing two bodies intended to replace the prosecution, following criticism that they were essentially the same as the current prosecution service. A task force announced this on Tuesday.
The so-called "serious crimes investigation agency" and the "indictment agency" are scheduled to be established in October under a government reorganization bill that passed the National Assembly last September, according to Yonhap News Agency.
These two bodies will replace the prosecution office and take on its investigative and indictment powers, respectively, as part of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's administration's efforts to address long-standing criticism that the prosecution has abused its exclusive powers by conducting politically motivated investigations.
Under the initial bills unveiled last month, the investigation agency was tasked with investigating nine major types of crimes.
However, the revised bill reduces this number to six, excluding crimes involving public officials, elections, and large-scale disasters, according to the prosecution reform task force under the Prime Minister's Office. This reflects concerns that the scope was too broad and could overlap with the powers of other agencies.
The revised bill calls for the new agency to investigate crimes involving corruption, economic offenses, the defense industry, narcotics, cyber activities, and insurrections and foreign aggression.
It also simplifies the organizational chart to remove the distinction between prosecutors and general professional investigators proposed in the original bill.
Under the new bill, all investigators will be classified as investigators, but ranked from Grades 1 to 9 based on their expertise and roles.
The title of the agency's chief, which will remain "prosecutor general," was not changed.
Meanwhile, the revised bill for the indictment agency adds the dismissal of a prosecutor as a disciplinary action, whereas originally a prosecutor could only be dismissed upon being impeached or receiving a prison sentence.
It also prohibits the unfair treatment of prosecutors who raise objections about the fairness of a superior's orders.
The task force said it has issued legislative notices on the revised bills, which will run until Thursday.