Kim Yong-min, a ruling party floor manager on The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee who is categorized as a hard-liner in the Democratic Party of Korea, has begun the process of drafting a Criminal Procedure Act amendment that would abolish prosecutors' supplementary investigation authority. The government's version of the Criminal Procedure Act amendment is being prepared by the Prosecutorial Reform Promotion Team under the Office for Government Policy Coordination. Kim argued that the team, made up of prosecutors, cannot be left in charge of revising the Criminal Procedure Act.
Democratic Party lawmakers Seo Young-kyo, Kim Yong-min, and Kim Young-ho; Park Eun-jung of the Rebuilding Korea Party; and independent lawmaker Choi Hyuk-jin held a forum titled "Citizen-led prosecutorial reform: Direction for promoting amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act" on the morning of the 8th. At the forum, speakers said that, in addition to the government bill for the Criminal Procedure Act that the Prosecutorial Reform Promotion Team will announce next month, a National Assembly–level amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act should be prepared.
Kim Yong-min said, "The group now drafting the bill (the government bill for the Criminal Procedure Act) is prosecutors, who are the target of reform, which is a contradictory situation where prosecutors are making the prosecutorial reform law," adding, "Prosecutors will place provisions on direct investigative authority, including supplementary investigation authority, in the government bill in various places that are hard for us to catch."
He continued, "In the case of the Prosecution Service Office Act and the Serious Crimes Investigation Office Act last time, the Democratic Party, which said it would carry out prosecutorial reform, almost handled without amendment and as a party line the laws that prosecutors had drafted, without any sense of the problem," adding, "For the Criminal Procedure Act, I proposed to the party leadership that the party should first prepare a desirable plan, but it has not been accepted."
Kim is said to have asked the party leadership for the chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee in the latter half of the National Assembly to complete the abolition of prosecutors' supplementary investigation authority. However, the party leadership has conveyed to Kim the response that "you cannot serve as chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee." By National Assembly custom, a standing committee chair is held by a lawmaker in a third term or higher, but Kim is in a second term. Second-term lawmakers mainly serve as standing committee floor managers.
Kim said, "I believe the floor manager role I currently hold on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee is also important. However, I have repeatedly expressed hope to become the Legislation and Judiciary Committee chair in the latter half of the National Assembly and properly wrap up prosecutorial reform, but unfortunately it fell through," adding, "As of yesterday (on the 7th), I received the response that I cannot serve as chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, so I am increasingly deliberating on what role I can take to complete prosecutorial reform."