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South Korea Approves Historic Prosecution Reform Bills to Curb Abuse of Power

South Korea has approved two landmark bills to dismantle its prosecution service, marking a sweeping overhaul of the justice system. The reform will shut down the current prosecution office in October and establish two new agencies to separately handle indictments and investigations. The ruling Democratic Party pushed the bills, arguing they are necessary to curb the abuse of prosecutorial power for political purposes. The main opposition People Power Party boycotted the parliamentary vote, warning the changes could weaken checks on investigators.

Key Points: South Korea Passes Prosecution Reform Bills to Split Powers

  • Prosecution service to be shut down after 78 years
  • New agencies for indictment and investigation
  • Aims to prevent politically motivated probes
  • Opposition boycotted the parliamentary vote
2 min read

South Korea: Prosecution reform bills approved at Cabinet in significant overhaul

South Korea's Cabinet approves bills to dismantle the prosecution service, creating separate agencies for investigation and indictment to prevent political abuse.

"the reform is needed to curb potential political abuse of prosecutorial power - Democratic Party (DP)"

Seoul, March 24

South Korea on Tuesday approved two prosecution reform bills that would dismantle the current prosecution service later this year to separate its exclusive power to both initiate criminal probes and indict suspects.

When promulgated, it would mark a sweeping overhaul of the nation's prosecution system. Under the new laws, the prosecution office will be shut down in October, 78 years after its establishment in 1948, and two new agencies will exercise indictment and investigate roles, respectively.

The bills on establishing the so-called serious crimes investigation agency and the indictment agency, pushed by the ruling Democratic Party (DP), were passed at the National Assembly last week in a plenary session boycotted by the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), reports Yonhap news agency.

Under the laws, the new indictment agency will handle only indictments, while investigative powers will be transferred to the newly established serious crimes investigation agency.

The new investigative body will be established under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and will be responsible for probing six major crimes, including corruption, economic offences, defence industry-related crimes and drug offences.

The government has been seeking to separate the prosecution service's authority over both indictment and investigation amid longstanding criticism that the prosecution has abused its exclusive powers by carrying out politically motivated investigations.

The DP has argued that the reform is needed to curb potential political abuse of prosecutorial power, while the PPP has warned it could weaken checks on investigators and increase the risk of political influence.

The two new agencies are set to be established after the abolition of the prosecution office.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
This is a massive reform! 78 years is a long time for any system. Hope it brings more transparency and fairness. The opposition boycotting is concerning though. Reforms should ideally have broader consensus. 🤔
R
Rohit P
Good to see countries taking bold steps to fix systemic issues. "Politically motivated investigations" is a problem everywhere. Creating a separate agency for serious crimes like corruption makes sense. Hope it works on the ground.
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Sarah B
While the intent to prevent abuse of power is commendable, the opposition's warning about weakened checks is valid. Simply splitting functions doesn't automatically reduce political influence. The new structure needs robust, independent oversight mechanisms.
V
Vikram M
Major reforms like this are always messy at first. The proof will be in the implementation. Will the new agencies be truly independent or just new tools for the ruling party? Time will tell. Meanwhile, kudos for trying to fix a broken system.
M
Michael C
Focusing the new investigative body on six major crimes, including corruption and economic offences, is a smart move. It allows for specialization. Hope they allocate sufficient resources and hire the right people. A good model for other democracies to study.

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