Seoul, March 24 – South Korea approved two prosecution reform bills on Tuesday that would dismantle the current prosecution service later this year, separating its exclusive power to both initiate criminal investigations and indict suspects.
Upon enactment, it would mark a sweeping overhaul of the nation's prosecution system. Under the new laws, the prosecution office will be shut down in October, 78 years after its establishment in 1948, and two new agencies will exercise the roles of indictment and investigation, respectively.
The bills on establishing the so-called serious crimes investigation agency and the indictment agency, pushed by the ruling Democratic Party (DP), were passed at the National Assembly last week in a plenary session boycotted by the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), reports Yonhap news agency.
Under the laws, the new indictment agency will handle only indictments, while investigative powers will be transferred to the newly established serious crimes investigation agency.
The new investigative body will be established under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and will be responsible for investigating six major crimes, including corruption, economic offences, defence industry-related crimes, and drug offences.
The government has been seeking to separate the prosecution service's authority over both indictment and investigation amid longstanding criticism that the prosecution has abused its exclusive powers by carrying out politically motivated investigations.
The DP has argued that the reform is needed to curb potential political abuse of prosecutorial power, while the PPP has warned it could weaken checks on investigators and increase the risk of political influence.
The two new agencies are set to be established after the abolition of the prosecution office.
