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| President Moon Jae-in has lunch with officials at the Sejong government complex, Tuesday. Yonhap |
By Do Je-hae
President Moon Jae-in underlined the need to follow up on the recent passage of bills at the National Assembly aimed at reforming the prosecution and establishing a separate investigative body for dealing with crimes of ranking officials.
"The establishment of the separate investigative agency and rearranging the investigative powers between the prosecution and the police have been sought after for more than 20 years," Moon said during a Cabinet meeting at the Sejong Government Complex, Tuesday. "To follow up on the passage of the bills, the government's job is more important from now on. Many preparations are required to implement the bills and there is not much time left. We must ensure objectivity and political independence in pursuing the implementation."
The President instructed relevant government agencies to coordinate details of the reform plan and communicate closely about implementing the reform.
The remarks were seen to indicate Moon's determination to continue his strong push to reform the prosecution despite a strong backlash.
"In a democratic nation, the institutions with power must pay attention to the people," Moon said. "It is only natural that the principle of democracy should be applied among the power institutions. However, it has been extremely difficult to change the status quo where a certain institution has the upper hand."
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| President Moon Jae-in, left, and Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun speak to during a Cabinet meeting at the Sejong government complex, Tuesday. Yonhap |
The remarks came amid a recent clash between the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution following the appointment of Choo Mi-ae, a five-term lawmaker and former judge, as justice minister.
Conflict between Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl and the new justice minister has been increasing since Choo ordered a controversial reshuffle of the prosecution earlier this month. But the President has stood by Choo, saying that the authority of the President and the justice minister regarding the reshuffle of the prosecution must be respected.
