The Democratic Party of South Korea announced it will no longer allow prosecutors to conduct investigations in the National Assembly [1].
This move represents a significant escalation in the ongoing struggle over the legal authority of the state's prosecution service. By calling for the abolition of the prosecutor’s supplementary-investigation power, the party aims to fundamentally restructure how criminal cases are handled in Seoul [1, 2].
Han Byung-do, the acting party chair and floor leader of the Democratic Party, led the initiative during a top-level meeting. Han said, "Prosecutors do not investigate" [1].
Party leadership said that allowing prosecutors to investigate directly is unnecessary for the protection of victims [1, 2]. The party also cited past abuses of prosecutorial power as a primary reason for the shift in policy, a move intended to curb the influence of the prosecution service over the judicial process [1, 2].
Simultaneously, the People Power Party (PPP) is focusing on internal governance. The PPP ethics committee has drafted new disciplinary standards to punish party members for actions that seriously impede the normal operation of the party [1, 2].
These standards are designed to enforce stricter party discipline and prevent behavior that could damage the party's functioning [1, 2]. The committee said it intends to use these guidelines to maintain stability within the conservative bloc as political tensions rise in the National Assembly [1].
“"Prosecutors do not investigate"”
The push to strip prosecutors of investigation powers is part of a long-term effort by South Korea's liberal bloc to decentralize legal authority and prevent the prosecution from wielding political influence. Meanwhile, the People Power Party's move toward stricter internal discipline suggests a strategy to consolidate party unity and minimize public dissent among its members to better counter the Democratic Party's legislative agenda.
