Subcommittee Launches Full-Scale Review of Bill to Abolish Prosecutorial Supplemental Investigation Authority

Full-Scale Review Begins on Bill to Abolish Prosecutorial Supplemental Investigation Authority

On the 13th, a revision to the Criminal Procedure Act, centered on abolishing the prosecution's authority for supplemental investigations, was deliberated in earnest at the Subcommittee on Bill Review No. 1 under the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee. During the meeting, led by the Democratic Party of Korea, additional supplementary amendments addressing the fundamental task of separating investigative and prosecutorial powers were also introduced, accelerating the pace of legislation. However, with voices within the Legislation and Judiciary Committee calling for a cautious approach, the future direction of the discussions remains difficult to predict.

Under the current Criminal Procedure Act, prosecutors have the authority to reinvestigate cases transferred by the police, known as the supplemental investigation authority. The core of the bill is to completely eliminate the system that allows the prosecution to overturn police investigation results and conduct reinvestigations. The intent is to maintain the prosecution's exclusive indictment power while clearly defining the role so that the police finalize investigations. This is explained as a measure to realize the separation of investigation and prosecutorial powers by enhancing the independence of police investigations.

The opposition People Power Party immediately retaliated and is pushing for a party platform advocating the retention of the supplemental investigation authority. Their argument is that while the separation of investigative and judicial powers is necessary, the minimum check by prosecutors to prevent police overreach should not be removed. They maintain that the prosecution serves as the final bastion necessary to control the risk of police illegally collecting evidence or handling cases in a biased manner during investigations.

Disagreements within the ruling party are also surfacing. Some voices argue that the supplemental investigation authority serves a practical function in correcting unlawful police investigations and should be retained. In response, independent lawmaker Hong Ki-won plans to propose a revision to the Criminal Procedure Act on the 14th aimed at retaining the authority. The judgment is that allowing supplemental investigations exceptionally under strict conditions, rather than complete abolition, aligns with the rule of law.

Legislation on Three Mega-Projects and Exclusion of New Nuclear Power Not Addressed

At the second-half economic growth strategy government-party consultations held on the same day, the power supply issue took center stage. The Democratic Party of Korea and the government emphasized the construction of a stable power grid as an essential prerequisite for fostering advanced industries such as artificial intelligence and semiconductors. To this end, they clarified the legislative goal of passing bills related to the three major mega-projects within the year. This decision reflects the sense of crisis that the future competitiveness of the national economy will collapse if power is not stably supplied to advanced industries.

The government and ruling party agreed not to completely exclude the construction of new nuclear power plants when establishing the Basic Plan for Power Supply. Given that the previous government's strong nuclear phase-out policy had been influential, leaving open the possibility of new nuclear power suggests a paradigm shift in energy policy. It is a realistic judgment that the national power grid cannot hold without securing large-scale power sources to cover base load in an environment where AI data centers and semiconductor foundries, which consume massive amounts of electricity, are going into operation one after another.

However, new nuclear power plant construction is a project requiring enormous budgets in the tens of trillions of won and a long period of over 10 years. With formidable challenges such as securing community acceptance and resolving nuclear waste disposal issues, securing specific financial resources and establishing site selection standards are cited as follow-up tasks that must go beyond a simple legislative declaration.

Analysis of Political Stalemate and Legislative Maneuvering

The aspect of the ruling and opposition parties simultaneously introducing bills and engaging in a head-on collision is deepening the void in the National Assembly. The People Power Party is suggesting a prolonged boycott of the National Assembly, citing the opposition party's abandonment of its recommendation for a special prosecutor for the National Election Commission. Consequently, even standing committee activities are not being properly conducted, and the substantive momentum for bill processing is being broken. Despite realistic arguments raised within the Assembly, it is expected that a considerable amount of time will be needed to reach an agreement on the composition of the Assembly.

The abolition of the supplemental investigation authority is an issue requiring structural changes to the judicial system. The fact that police manpower and equipment have been dramatically expanded, enhancing investigative capabilities to incomparable levels compared to the past, serves as strong grounds for the abolition theory. Nevertheless, if the authority is immediately and completely stripped without providing means for the prosecution to post hoc control the legality of police investigations, concerns about a judicial void due to the abandonment of duties continue to be raised. If approached solely for administrative convenience without meticulous institutional design, the damage will ultimately fall on the public.

If the bills for the three major mega-projects fail to pass within the year, the domestic high-tech industry ecosystem will suffer a blow. It could provide global big tech companies with a pretext to relocate data centers and research facilities to other countries. It is urgent to preemptively establish a legal basis for power grid stabilization before corporate investment diverts. The structure is such that the future national economic interest is eroded every moment legislation is delayed.

Legislative Process and Policy Outlook

For the bill to abolish the supplemental investigation authority to be referred to the plenary session, it must pass review at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's subcommittee. However, in a situation where both the ruling and opposition parties have introduced their respective bills and cautious sentiment prevails, even a principled agreement on a specific bill has not been reached. Within the political landscape where the ruling party is a minority, the process within the Legislation and Judiciary Committee is likely to face physical delays as it becomes entangled in a tug-of-war between major political forces.

In the case of nuclear power, substantive effects will occur only if subsequent tasks, such as specific site designation and budget allocation, follow through a revision of the Basic Plan for Power Supply. Beyond simply lowering legal barriers, environmental assessments and the process of persuading local residents must essentially accompany actual construction. Without organic cooperation between the legislature and the executive, policy continuity cannot be guaranteed.

The two axes of restructuring judicial power and securing economic growth drivers are issues directly linked to the lives and property of the people. To prevent political confrontation from leading to systemic paralysis, the government and ruling party as well as the opposition party must return to the table for substantive discussion. Preventing intense legislative competition from exceeding the void in the national system is evaluated as the top priority.