By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
The ruling Grand National Party (GNP) called for harsher punishment of prosecutors who are responsible for the pre-indictment disclosure of facts that they gather during their investigation of suspects.
The measure came Thursday after the ruling and opposition parties created a special National Assembly committee on reform of the judiciary and prosecution. The bipartisan panel will be in session for six months.
Under the plan pushed by the GNP, prosecutors who disclose facts they were informed of during an investigation before indictment will get up to a seven-year jail term or their licenses suspended for up to 10 years.
Currently, prosecutors who commit the pre-indictment disclosure can get up to three years in jail or their licenses can be suspended up to five years.
The GNP also plans to apply stricter rules when courts issues search warrants.
Prosecutors will not be allowed to seek search warrants for comprehensive purposes, and the objects of seizure will also be largely restricted.
The ruling party plans to push for the measures during negotiations with the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) at the committee.
This hints that there is a possibility that the GNP-led reform measures may not be included in the final reform plan that will come out in August when the term of the committee expires.
The GNP wanted to overhaul the judiciary system. It called for seniority and experience when appointing judges, saying that young judges, having little real world experience, are more likely to commit errors when ruling on cases.
Meanwhile, the DP planed to fix the way the prosecution works.
DP lawmakers alleged that prosecutors tried to curry favor with President Lee Myung-bak when they dealt with cases involving high-profile politicians such as the late former President Roh Moo-hyun and former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook.
They said prosecution's investigations were politically motivated and that prosecutors used them to repress liberal politicians.