President Lee Jae-myung and the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea reached a consensus on the evening of the 20th during a dinner meeting to push forward with prosecutorial reform without wavering. Despite recent differing interpretations between the party and the government regarding reform tasks, it was made clear that there are no differences of opinion. The party and government agreed to remove the provisions related to the Prosecutor's Office and add provisions for establishing a Public Prosecution Agency and a Serious Crimes Investigation Agency to revise the Government Organization Act before the Chuseok holiday.
According to Park Soo-hyun, the chief spokesperson of the Democratic Party, President Lee hosted a dinner with Democratic Party leader Chung Cheong-rae and the leadership at his residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul, from 6:30 p.m. this evening, in a meeting that lasted over two hours.
President Lee said, "I congratulate Leader Chung Cheong-rae on his election and the formation of the leadership," adding, "Let's work together as one team with the government so that the public can feel the efficacy of the new administration." He emphasized, "Let's do our utmost so that the public can feel that 'my life is changing.'"
Leader Chung said, "Thank you for inviting us despite your busy schedule in preparing for normal diplomacy," and added, "As the ruling party, we will take responsibility and produce results to support the success of the Lee Jae-myung administration. Let's ensure that the party, government, and assembly move as one body."
During the dinner, prosecutorial reform was a major agenda item. Chief spokesperson Park noted, "The party and government confirmed clearly that they will push for prosecutorial reform without differences and without wavering," adding, "We agreed to include the principle of separation of investigation and prosecution in the Government Organization Act revision before the Chuseok holiday. Subsequently, the government will continue to ensure that follow-up measures are thoroughly prepared and pushed forward."
In response, Leader Chung said, "I thank the President," and Floor Leader Kim Byung-ki evaluated, "The separation of investigation and prosecution in itself is a significant transformation."
Recently, the party and government have faced confusion regarding the roadmap for prosecutorial reform. During a Cabinet meeting on the 18th, President Lee instructed Minister Jeong Seong-ho, the head of the Ministry of Justice and the key department for prosecutorial reform, to ensure that there is a public discourse process to sufficiently inform the public about sensitive and critical issues, leading to interpretations that the Presidential Office effectively requested the ruling party to slow down the pace of reform.
It appears that on this day, the party and government reached a compromise by deciding to prioritize legislation of the Government Organization Act containing the principle of separation of investigation and prosecution, instead of proceeding with the legislative package known as the 'four laws for prosecutorial reform' at a later date.
Those who attended the dinner included Kang Hoon, Secretary to the President; Kim Yong-beom, Chief Policy Officer; Woo Sang-ho, Senior Political Secretary; and Kim Byung-wook, Political Secretary from the Presidential Office, along with Leader Chung and Floor Leader Kim Byung-ki from the Democratic Party, as well as Supreme Council members Jeon Hyun-hee, Han Jun-ho, Kim Byeong-ju, Lee Eon-joo, Hwang Myung-seon, Seo Sam-suk; Policy Committee Chair Han Jung-ae; and Secretary-General Cho Seung-rae.