The People Power Party expressed dissatisfaction during the Legislative Judiciary Committee's agenda coordination meeting on the criminal procedure law, which was held to discuss the abolition of prosecutors' supplementary investigation rights. The Democratic Party countered that the opposition only made repetitive, baseless claims regarding the necessity of retaining these rights.
Park Hyung-soo, a member of the People Power Party, and Kim Tae-kyu spoke to reporters on July 29 during the meeting, stating, "We cannot accept a situation where everything is handled unilaterally as if they hold all the power."
Kim Tae-kyu emphasized, "The Democratic Party claims it will change the criminal justice system for the first time in 70 years since 1954. Is it appropriate to rush this process without reflecting the opposition's views? Ultimately, they are amending the criminal procedure law for the party convention."
He also pointed out that Park Eun-jung, a member of the Justice Innovation Party, which has a pro-government stance, participated in the agenda coordination meeting, suggesting that they attempted to leverage their voting advantage to unilaterally conclude the meeting, which led to their decision not to participate in the vote.
In response, Kim Seung-won, a member of the Democratic Party, along with Kim Yong-min and Park, retorted, "The People Power Party only made repetitive, baseless claims about the necessity of retaining supplementary investigation rights for prosecutors."
Kim Seung-won stated, "The opposition did not present any alternatives or improvements to the bill. They only insisted that investigative powers should remain with prosecutors, which felt like mere rhetoric."
Kim Yong-min added, "The People Power Party, which has avoided discussions, has revealed its lack of preparation regarding the criminal procedure law amendment. Despite having established procedures for prosecutors to verify facts instead of supplementary investigation rights, they only raised incorrect claims about the content of the bill."
Meanwhile, the agenda coordination committee reportedly approved the criminal procedure law amendment in the absence of the People Power Party. The Legislative Judiciary Committee is expected to convene a full meeting to process the criminal procedure law, which will be presented at the plenary session on July 30.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.