Embracing Criminal Procedure Code Possible if Plea Bargaining is Introduced

Prosecutor General Kim Jong-bin said, “We are not entirely against the Judiciary Reform Committee’s reform bill on the Criminal Procedure Code,” on April 29, adding, “There needs to be an alternative policy where a defendant who confesses his crime during an investigation can have his sentence shortened, or where one who reverses his testimony in court can be penalized.”

The prosecutor general’s comments imply that though the testimonial ability of the public prosecutor’s interrogations will be denied, he may follow the reform of the criminal procedure code that is being pushed forward by the presidential-affiliated Judiciary Reform Committee (joint chairmen of the committee: Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan, lawyer Han Seung-hun) if alternatives are given, such as plea bargaining or the installation of an “obstruction of judicial administration” crime.

However Prosecutor General Kim said, “We are not planning to embrace the Judiciary Reform Committee’s bill conditionally,” adding, “There need to be further talks.”

Meanwhile, prosecutors are organizing opposition movements and taking action against the Judicial Reform Committee’s reform bill, such as holding prosecutors’ meetings.

Keuk-In Bae jin0619@donga.com bae2150@donga.com