Ruling party unilaterally passes prosecution reform bills through parliamentary subcommittee

Lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea stage a rally at the National Assembly in Seoul on Tuesday, denouncing the main opposition People Power Party for reneging on a bipartisan deal on prosecution reform. Joint Press Corps

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) vowed to pass two controversial bills on prosecution reform through a plenary session of the National Assembly on Wednesday despite strong objection from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP).

Rep. Park Hong-keun, floor leader of the DP, said the party will convene the plenary session later in the day and pass the bill "without fail," after railroading the legislation through the judiciary committee in the wee hours Wednesday.

The bills are aimed at reducing and ultimately removing the prosecution's investigative powers.

Park told a party meeting that the DP "will not be swayed any more by the PPP and President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol" over their objection to the bills that were originally agreed on by the two main parties.

The DP has justified its move by claiming the PPP broke its promise when it demanded a review of the compromise deal that called for curtailing the prosecution's investigative right to two crime types ― corruption and economic crimes ― before removing it completely.

The compromise deal represented a breakthrough between the rival parties that had sparred fiercely for weeks over the DP's headlong push for legislation that would immediately deprive the prosecution of all investigative powers.

Lawmakers of the main opposition People Power Party stage a rally at the National Assembly in Seoul on Tuesday, to protest the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's push for controversial legislation on reducing and ultimately removing the prosecution's investigative powers. Joint Press Corps

But the PPP backtracked on the deal after it drew unexpectedly strong criticism from the public that lawmakers colluded to shield themselves from prosecution investigations, as the agreement calls for excluding crimes related to elections and public officials from prosecution probes.

Yoon, a former top prosecutor who is set to take office on May 10, voiced concerns about the bills, calling for the entire political community to reflect deeply on what is right in order to defend the Constitution and protect the people.

Asked for comment on the DP's push, Yoon only said, "Our party will take care of it."

The PPP has vowed to use a filibuster to block the legislation.

The prosecution again lambasted the reform bills and said it is reviewing an option to file a constitutional suit and seek a court injunction to suspend them if they are passed in a plenary parliamentary session.

"The prosecution can file a suit disputing the authority of (another public agency), a kind of constitutional dispute, and an additional suit seeking an injunction suspending the effect (of the bills)," Deputy Prosecutor General Park Sung-jin, currently acting as the top prosecutor, said in a press conference.

"We have formed a separate team, and it is thoroughly preparing (for possible suits)," he said.

Park said "it clearly runs afoul of the Constitution" to bar prosecutors from direct investigations and restrict their authority to prosecute, imploring the National Assembly speaker to "reconsider" putting the bills on vote during a plenary session. (Yonhap)