Gov't to create powerful investigative body

Han In-sup, head of the special committee for reform of the prosecution, speaks to reporters at the Government Complex in Gwacheon, Monday. / Yonhap

By Jung Min-ho

The government said Monday that it will create an independent investigative organization to check the excessive power of the prosecution.

A special committee for reform of the prosecution, under the Ministry of Justice, said it has presented a reform proposal to Minister Park Sang-ki.

According to the plan, the organization will be empowered to investigate and indict all top-ranking government officials, including the President, lawmakers, judges, prosecutors and members of their families. It will also be able to take over cases that prosecutors are looking into.

Former officials will also be subject to investigation during the three years after they leave their posts.

The powerful agency will be comprised of as many as 122 investigators, including 30 to 50 prosecutors. The plan is not final as the ministry said it will collect more opinions before putting forward legislation.

In July when President Moon Jae-in announced the plan, he promised to create such an organization to restore justice and fight corruption among senior officials.

The proposal, however, is already causing fresh concern over its powers, which are deemed more excessive than that of the prosecution.

To prevent the organization from becoming another abuser of state power and developing corrupt ties within the prosecution, the proposal requires its members to have been separated from it for three years before returning to the prosecution. If they want to work at Cheong Wa Dae or practice law, they have to take at least one year off.

If its investigators are accused of illegal activities, they will be investigated by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. That way, the committee said, the two institutions will be able to hold each other in check.

Its chief will serve a single three-year term. The ministry said it will form a politically neutral commission of recommendation to prevent political controversy.

Yet a bumpy road lies ahead of the ministry, with the fiercest opposition expected to come from the prosecution, which will lose a large share of its power to the new body.

The power to investigate and indict high-ranking government officials has been one of the major parts of the prosecution’s authority. With the ministry’s plan, prosecutors are now in danger of losing it.

Many lawmakers of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party have also professed opposition to the plan, saying it was “nothing more than just creating another prosecution.”

Over the years, the prosecution has been criticized for abusing its power and being political in its work, which has provoked public outrage.

Korean prosecutors exercise boundless discretion in making crucial decisions, including how to investigate cases themselves or by directing police, whether criminal charges should be filed and what the charges should be, without having their powers checked.

To reform the prosecution, President Moon promised two things. First, he said he will allow police officers to have more ― or exclusive ― investigative powers while prosecutors will retain the power to indict suspects. Also, he said he would set up an independent investigative body for cases involving high-ranking government officials.