The parliamentary push to disband a powerful investigation unit in the prosecution is an internal organizational matter that should be handled by the government, not by the National Assembly, the prime minister said Tuesday.
The remark by Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik is in line with the objections the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae raised a day earlier over the parliamentary move to scrap the Central Investigation Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office as part of judicial reform measures.
"The matter is aimed at enabling prosecutors to effectively exercise their power, which is not in regard to the work assignments or systemic structures," Kim said at a parliamentary session. "The administrative branch basically maintains its stance that it is not appropriate for the parliament to take care of such matters in minute detail."
The reform proposal has emerged as a hot political issue after a parliamentary judicial reform subcommittee passed the proposal last week. Prosecutors strongly protested, accusing lawmakers of attempting to disband the special team to block its probe into a widening corruption scandal involving savings banks.
Prosecutor General Kim Joon-gyu said earlier that a special investigation team is vital to high-profile cases vulnerable to outside pressure and reaffirmed that the team will continue its probe into the savings banks scandal.
The scandal has jolted the nation for months. It centers on allegations that ailing savings banks sought the influence of high-level officials or politicians to avoid punishment for extending illegal loans and other financial irregularities. (Yonhap)