South Korea's Opposition Slams Bill Stripping Prosecution's Investigation Authority

SEOUL, Aug. 4 (Yonhap) -- The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Tuesday stepped up its criticism of a recently passed bill stripping the prosecution of its authority to conduct direct investigations, warning that it could weaken protection for victims.

The revision to the Criminal Procedure Act was approved at a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day despite calls from the PPP for President Lee Jae Myung to veto the bill.

"This is legislation that only benefits criminals, including President Lee," PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok said during a forum attended by lawmakers and legal experts at the National Assembly.

Rep. Jang pointed to the case of a female victim who was attacked in the southeastern port city of Busan by an assailant years ago as an example of why he opposes the bill.

"What possibly shows the true nature of this bad legislation better than a citizen, who was driven to the brink of death because the nation failed to protect her, now begging it to stand on the side of the victims?" he said.

The victim suffered brutal attacks in 2022 when a man followed her into her apartment building, struck her on the back of the head with a roundhouse kick and repeatedly assaulted her until she passed out, triggering public outrage.

The case was initially referred to prosecutors by police on assault charges, but a supplementary investigation by prosecutors later uncovered that the suspect had also attempted to sexually assault the victim.

In a recent post on X, she urged Lee to "stand on the side of the victims" by exercising his right to veto the bill.

Rep. Na Kyung-won of the PPP, a former judge and now a five-term lawmaker, criticized the ruling Democratic Party (DP) for pushing ahead with the legislation.

"The door to hell has opened with the revision to the Criminal Procedure Act, which is designed solely for one person -- the president," she argued.

The bill is part of the DP's broader prosecution reform drive aimed at dismantling the prosecution and creating two new agencies, tasked with handling investigations and indictments, respectively.

Under the bill, prosecutors will be stripped of their authority to conduct supplementary investigations, and will instead be allowed to request judicial police officers to carry them out.

The PPP has argued that the revision would pave the way for the prosecution and the court to drop charges against President Lee, who stood a number of trials, currently suspended, before taking office in June 2025.