Cabinet approves gov't reorganization bill abolishing prosecution office

President Lee Jae Myung, center, bangs the gavel to open a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a government reorganization bill centered on abolishing the prosecution office and stripping the finance ministry of its budget planning role.

The bill, the first of its kind under the Lee Jae Myung administration, was passed by the National Assembly last week during a plenary session boycotted by the main opposition People Power Party.

It was approved during a Cabinet meeting presided over by President Lee Jae Myung, along with other bills calling for the renaming of standing parliamentary committees and the abolition of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC).

Under the revision to the Government Organization Act, the prosecution office will be shut down in October next year, 78 years after its establishment, and be replaced by two new agencies that will take on its investigative and indictment powers.

The so-called serious crimes investigation agency will be installed under the interior ministry, while the indictment office will be established under the justice ministry.

The move comes after longstanding criticism that the prosecution has abused its exclusive powers by carrying out politically motivated investigations.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance, meanwhile, will be separated into the ministry of finance and economy, and the office for planning and budget, which will be installed under the prime minister's office. The change will take effect in January next year.

Other government ministries will be subject to name changes and restructuring starting Wednesday, when the revised bill will be promulgated.

The environment ministry will become the ministry of climate, energy and environment, while most of the energy departments under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) will be transferred to the new environment ministry. MOTIE will also be renamed the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, whose Korean name was the Ministry of Women and Family, will additionally be renamed the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, while Statistics Korea and the Korean Intellectual Property Office will be upgraded to the national data office and the intellectual property office under the prime minister, respectively.

The office of the deputy prime minister for social affairs, which was double hatted by the education minister, will be abolished, but the finance minister and the science minister will each double as deputy prime minister.

The bill abolishing the KCC, the state telecommunications regulator, mandates the establishment of a new body overseeing the broadcasting and telecoms sectors.

Once it takes effect Wednesday, the current KCC chief, Lee Jin-sook, will automatically be removed from office following months of tensions with the Lee administration over her alleged failure to maintain political neutrality.

Lee was appointed by former President Yoon Suk Yeol in July 2024 to a three-year term.