Concerns Raised in the Democratic Party's Parliamentary Meeting Over the Unconstitutionality of Abolishing Supplementary Investigation Authority

It has been reported that, at the Democratic Party’s caucus meeting, there was an opinion that supplementary measures are needed to reduce the risk of unconstitutionality regarding the Criminal Procedure Act amendment that completely abolishes the prosecution’s supplementary investigative powers. At the caucus on the 24th, instead of deleting the clause on prosecutors’ investigative powers altogether, a proposal was made to include wording stating that prosecutors investigate only through judicial police officers. The lawmaker who proposed it explained that this was meant to put in place safeguards on the premise of separating investigation and indictment, as lawsuits challenging the National Assembly’s authority could follow one after another. The amendment being promoted by the Democratic Party includes the abolition of the prosecution’s supplementary investigative powers, and the Legislation and Judiciary Committee plans to finalize the wording after additional review and a full committee meeting next week. However, there are also counterarguments from both inside and outside the party that the possibility of unconstitutionality is not high, since the prosecution’s constitutional authority to request warrants would remain in place.