President Lee calls for police reform amid criminal justice system overhaul

SEOUL, Oct. 1 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday renewed his call for thorough police reform to root out any cover-ups and other irregularities in investigations, as police are set to assume greater investigative authority under the recent revision to the Criminal Procedure Act.

The president made the call during a meeting with his key aides at Cheong Wa Dae, a day before the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency (SCIA) is set to launch, along with the Public Prosecution Service, as part of the prosecution reform aimed at stripping the prosecution of investigative rights.

Renamed as the Public Prosecution Service, prosecutors will only be tasked with indicting and maintaining indictments against suspects, while the SCIA will conduct investigations into corruption, defense industry crimes, insurrection and other serious crimes.

Lee said the launch of the two agencies will end the era during which prosecutors wielded the authority to conduct both investigation and indictments, and acted as political prosecutors, targeting political foes and subjecting them to persecution.

"A new criminal justice system will begin to operate in compliance with the principle of checks and balances," he said.

The redistribution of authority will also compel the need for police reform, the president stressed, adding, "As its authority expands, external scrutiny and internal checks should be more thoroughly carried out."

The president, in particular, stressed that "strong and tangible reform measures" should be taken to prevent any cover-up of cases or corruption involving investigations.

"Utmost efforts should be made to ensure that citizens are not subject to undue damage and there are no lapses in investigation capabilities, justice and the protection of victims in the process of establishing the new system," he said.