PPP leader slams Lee over remarks on revision to Criminal Procedure Act
Jang Dong-hyeok, right, chief of the main opposition People Power Party, attends a meeting of the party's Supreme Council at the National Assembly, Thursday. Yonhap
The leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Thursday denounced President Lee Jae Myung over remarks suggesting he had not read a revision to the Criminal Procedure Act that strips prosecutors of their investigative powers, despite having earlier approved its promulgation.
The criticism came after Lee raised questions about the legislation during a government briefing Wednesday, saying he had "not read" the revised law during a Cabinet meeting the previous day.
"It is embarrassing to call someone who has completely destroyed South Korea's judicial system by amending the Criminal Procedure Act and confidently says, 'I have not read the legal text,' the president of South Korea," Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok said during a meeting of the party's supreme council.
"The president is nonchalantly spouting out such nonsense as if it is no big deal that people don't even recognize it as such," he added.
At Wednesday's meeting, where the president received policy briefings from government agencies, Lee asked the justice minister whether prosecutors will not be allowed to conduct investigations under the revised law, saying he had not read the provisions.
"Of course, the president is fully aware of the contents of the legislation," Seong Ghi-hong, senior presidential secretary for public relations and communication, said in an interview with radio broadcaster CBS early Thursday.
Seong explained that Lee was only asking how each minister understood the relevant provisions as there could be differing interpretations about the extent to which prosecutors could be involved in joint investigations with police once the law takes effect.
A recent survey commissioned by KUKINEWS and conducted by Hangil Research showed that more than 62 percent of Koreans said prosecutors should retain the right to conduct supplementary investigations.