South Korea opposition targets prosecution, election agency
· UPIJuly 14 (Asia Today) -- South Korea's main opposition People Power Party is stepping up a two-pronged campaign against the ruling Democratic Party over prosecutors' supplementary investigation authority and demands for an independent investigation of the National Election Commission.
Inside the National Assembly, the party is preparing legislation under floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik to preserve prosecutors' authority to conduct additional investigations after receiving cases from police.
Outside the legislature, party leader Jang Dong-hyeok is traveling across the country to demand election reforms and a special counsel investigation into ballot shortages during the June 3 local elections.
The party held a forum at the National Assembly on Tuesday titled "Investigative gaps exposed by the Jang Yun-gi case and the need for supplementary investigation authority."
Party officials used the event to highlight what they described as the dangers of the Democratic Party's proposal to eliminate prosecutors' ability to conduct their own follow-up investigations.
"If all investigative authority is handed over to the police, it will create a monstrous police force," party leader Jang Dong-hyeok said.
Floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik said the authority was intended to protect the public rather than the prosecution service.
"Supplementary investigation authority is a system designed to protect the rights of the people, not the rights of prosecutors," Jeong Jeom-sik said.
Under South Korea's current criminal justice system, police generally conduct the initial investigation and transfer a case to prosecutors. Prosecutors may request further police work or directly investigate unresolved issues before deciding whether to indict a suspect.
The Democratic Party is seeking to eliminate prosecutors' direct supplementary investigations as part of a broader effort to completely separate criminal investigations from prosecutions.
The People Power Party has decided to introduce as official party policy an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act that would preserve the authority.
It also plans legislation delaying for one year the implementation of laws establishing the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the Public Prosecution Office.
The new agencies are scheduled to replace the existing prosecution service in October, with criminal investigations and prosecutions assigned to separate organizations.
People Power Party chief deputy floor spokesman Choi Eun-seok said some lawmakers had requested additional revisions to proposals prepared by the party's legal support team.
"We plan to submit them as soon as possible after an internal review, although changes remain possible," Choi Eun-seok said.
The party plans to cite the Jang Yun-gi murder case in Gwangju and the so-called Busan roundhouse-kick case as examples of crimes in which additional prosecutorial investigations helped uncover important facts.
Police handling of the Jang Yun-gi case has come under scrutiny over allegations that investigators concealed evidence and improperly separated a suspected sexual offense from the killing of a female high school student.
A National Office of Investigation special team has expanded its inquiry to former commanders at Gwangsan Police Station.
Party calls for election special counsel
The People Power Party is also intensifying its campaign for an independent investigation and reform of the National Election Commission.
Ballot shortages disrupted voting at polling stations during South Korea's June 3 local elections, leaving some voters waiting for hours and others unable to cast ballots.
The controversy prompted protests, demands for a new election and questions about how the commission prepared and distributed ballots.
During a parliamentary investigative hearing, People Power Party lawmakers questioned officials about the handling of an incident in which President Lee Jae-myung's marked early-voting ballot was exposed.
The party said evidence related to the election problems should be preserved through a special counsel investigation before any public recount takes place.
It also called for a broader investigation of the commission's operations and decision-making process, saying the Democratic Party had blocked the selection of witnesses requested by the opposition.
Jang Dong-hyeok has combined the party's legislative campaign with rallies in cities across the country, including Incheon and Busan.
Party leaders are scheduled to attend a rally outside the Gwangju election commission office Wednesday afternoon.
They plan to call for an opposition-led special counsel investigation, a new election and broader reforms of the election agency.
The visit will come six days after Jang visited the Gwangju Police Agency to protest its handling of the Jang Yun-gi murder investigation.
By raising the election issue in Gwangju, a traditional Democratic Party stronghold, the opposition appears to be seeking to present the controversy as a national issue rather than a dispute limited to conservative voters.
Disagreements between the parties also remain unresolved over control of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee.
Leaders of the two parties met with the National Assembly speaker Tuesday but failed to reach an agreement.
The confrontation is expected to continue through Friday, the deadline set by the speaker for concluding negotiations over committee leadership.
-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260715010005385