Judiciary Reform Committee and Public Prosecutors Clash on Criminal Procedure Law

It was revealed on April 27 that the presidential-affiliated Judiciary Reform Committee is preparing a reform bill of the Criminal Procedure Code, which makes a sweeping revision of the framework of criminal trials, such as denying the testimonial ability of the public prosecutor’s interrogatory and abolishing the defendant interrogation system in court.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office strongly opposed this, holding an emergency meeting with major officials, and said that this is a plan to incapacitate the public prosecutor’s investigative power.

The reform bill of the Criminal Procedure Code that the Judiciary Reform Committee is preparing deals with the following: denying the testimonial ability of public prosecutor’s documents (such as the defendant’s interrogatory), banning the use of interrogations as evidence, abolishing the prosecutor’s interrogation of defendants, and introducing citizen-participating trials.

When denied its testimonial ability, the public prosecutor’s interrogations will be useless in court like an “involuntary confessional record,” and if this is confirmed, there will be a fundamental change in investigation and trial methods.

Public prosecutors showed antipathy, saying that if the reform of the Criminal Procedure Code does take place as planned, they will be unable to investigate and thus become an organ that only works on indictment and public land.

Prosecutor General Kim Jong-bin, Deputy Prosecutor General of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office Jeong Sang-myeong, Justice of Seoul High Court Ahn Dae-hee, and Justice of Seoul Central District Court Lee Jong-baek held an emergency meeting with all officials of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office and Prosecutor’s Offices in the metropolitan area to prepare a counter plan.

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