A constitutional complaint filed by an incumbent prosecutor claiming that the amended Government Organization Act, centered on abolishing the Prosecution Service, is unconstitutional was dismissed by the Constitutional Court. A dismissal is a procedure that ends a case without a ruling on the merits on the grounds that the petition does not meet the filing requirements.
According to legal sources on the 11th, the Constitutional Court on the 10th dismissed a constitutional complaint filed by Director General Kim Seong-hun of the Cheongju District Prosecutors' Office against Article 35 paragraphs 2 and 3 and Article 37 paragraphs 9 and 10 of the Government Organization Act. After a preliminary review by a designated panel of justices of the case received in Dec. last year, the court determined there was no possibility of a violation of basic rights.
Director General Kim argued that the amended Government Organization Act exceeded legislative limits by stripping prosecutors of the investigative authority granted to them and by unjustly changing their status, thereby infringing on their rights. The gist is that if the Prosecution Service is converted into a Public Prosecution Office under the law, prosecutors will become public prosecutors and will not be able to exercise investigative authority, thereby infringing on their right to hold public office.
The amendment to the Government Organization Act passed the National Assembly in Sept. last year, led by the Democratic Party of Korea. Under the law, the Prosecution Service will be abolished in Sept. this year, 78 years after its establishment, with investigations handled by the Serious Crime Investigation Agency and indictments by the Public Prosecution Office.