Ruling party goes all-out to settle new criminal justice system, vows to fix shortfalls
The Democratic Party of Korea has pledged to devote all its efforts to establishing the new criminal justice system that separates investigations from prosecution. Its resolve to complete prosecutorial reform was underscored from day one — October 2, 2026 — when the Indictment Office (a prosecutorial body handling prosecutions only) and the Office for Investigation of High-Ranking Officials' Corruption (a newly created agency probing corruption by senior public officials) were launched.
Party leader Kim Min-seok, opening the day's Supreme Council meeting, said, "I thank the public for their support of prosecutorial reform," and vowed to systematize checks and controls over police investigations. He said abuses such as cronyism, cover-ups of cases, and leaks of investigative information would be swiftly rooted out.
Supreme Council member Seo Mi-hwa said the core principle of prosecutorial reform — separating investigation from prosecution — was finally beginning to work properly in the field, and pledged to completely sever the remnants of the "political prosecution" that removed political opponents through case-rigging investigations and forced, fabricated indictments. Supreme Council member Lee Sung-yoon said the party would build a criminal justice system free from abuse or misuse of investigative power.
Against this backdrop, voices within the party called for reviewing trial and error in the field. Floor spokesperson Kim Seong-hoi said in a written briefing that, as the path is being traveled for the first time, there will inevitably be trial and error, and shortcomings would be addressed through legislation. Rep. Cho Seung-rae noted that the party faces the task of overcoming deeply entrenched practices and culture.
As President Lee Jae-myung signed off on the confirmation hearing request for Kim Ji-yong, the nominee to head the Office for Investigation of High-Ranking Officials' Corruption, ahead of the National Assembly hearing, differences emerged within the party. Rep. Song Young-gil said on MBC Radio on the 2nd that the nominee was not a prosecutor loyal to former President Yoon Suk-yeol but someone who was demoted and then resigned after ordering the investigation into the former president's mother-in-law to be reopened, and that the party should cooperate with a swift appointment. In contrast, Rep. Park Ju-min said on CBS Radio that the nominee must explain whether it is right for someone who opposed separating investigation and prosecution to become the agency's first chief.
