The ruling Democratic Party of Korea is in the final stretch of its push to completely remove the prosecution's investigative power, marking a monumental shift in South Korea's criminal justice system. On Friday, the party announced plans to confirm a revision to the Criminal Procedure Act on a party-line bill, which would eliminate the prosecution's authority to investigate even when a police investigation is deemed insufficient. Currently, prosecutors can step in if they believe the initial police probe was lacking. The proposed revision removes that conditional clause, leaving the prosecution with zero investigative authority.

This effort has faced strong resistance from the conservative bloc and some victims' groups, but the Democratic Party argues that without such a change, prosecution reform would be incomplete. According to floor spokesperson Rep. Lee Ju-hee, the revision is "the final touch to complete the prosecutorial reform" and embodies the party's determination to address the "hotbed of politically motivated prosecutors." The liberal bloc contends that granting prosecutors both investigative and indictment powers has allowed them to weaponize their authority politically, enabling them to influence elections, collude with administrations, and target opponents.

Lasting impact of Roh Moo-hyun's legacy

The Democratic Party's drive for prosecutorial reform traces back more than two decades to Roh Moo-hyun, a liberal icon whose influence remains strong 17 years after his death. Roh was the first South Korean president to push for a criminal justice overhaul aligned with democratic principles. In 2004, he unsuccessfully tried to establish an independent agency for investigating high-ranking officials' corruption to check the prosecution's power. Just a year after his term ended, Roh died by suicide in 2009 while under investigation for corruption allegations. His supporters and many liberal politicians believe that investigation was politically motivated.

Rep. Han Byung-do, interim chair and floor leader of the Democratic Party, expressed the lasting anguish: "We can never forget the profound anguish of being unable to do anything in the face of the ruthless investigations and public pressure that pushed Roh's life to the brink." He warned that "the history of political prosecution could repeat itself at any time" and vowed not to pass on such failures and tragedies to future generations. Roh's suicide became a rallying symbol for reform, embedding a deep distrust of prosecutorial power in the progressive movement.

Grudge against prosecution

Roh's ambitions were revived by former President Moon Jae-in, his closest ally and attorney in the corruption case, when he took office in 2017. During Moon's term, major changes reduced the prosecution's powers: much of its investigative authority was transferred to the police; the National Office of Investigation was established; and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials was created to probe powerful figures independently. Many liberals believe this reform — strongly opposed by conservatives and prosecutors — motivated criminal investigations against leading liberal figures. In 2019, former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, who spearheaded Moon's reforms, was indicted for forging academic credentials for his children and sentenced to two years in prison in 2024. In 2025, former President Moon was charged with bribery after his former son-in-law received over 200 million won from an entrepreneur. President Lee Jae-myung himself faced multiple criminal charges under the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration, ranging from false claims in his 2022 presidential campaign to collusion with developers — all suspended shortly after his inauguration.

Benjamin Engel, an assistant professor of Korean Studies at Dankook University, noted, "It would be fair to say that progressives believe the prosecution unfairly targeted Cho Kuk to halt prosecutorial reform during the Moon Jae-in administration, and some progressives believe the charges against Lee Jae-myung are also politically motivated." He added, "In this reading, prosecutorial reform is politically motivated by grudges against the prosecution. However, because a 'grudge' may be part of the motivation does not mean the reform is unnecessary or unjustified." Bernard Rowan, a professor of political science at Chicago State University, said, "I cannot say whether there are deep-seated grudges, but grudges tend to happen on any and all sides in politics, and memories of perceived injustice run long."

Deep polarization

The political landscape has never been more favorable for the liberal bloc to implement sweeping prosecutorial reforms. The Democratic Party holds an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly, the president has been supportive throughout his career, and Lee's inauguration followed the political turmoil of Yoon's martial law declaration in December 2024. The reform drive is championed by lawmakers like Reps. Park Jie-won and Song Young-gil, who have personal grievances from politically motivated prosecutions. Six of the 161 Democratic Party lawmakers are former attorneys who defended Lee in his criminal cases. Engel asked, "Would politicians charged with crimes personally benefit from prosecutorial reform? Likely. But if we are going to ask who benefits from the reform, we also need to ask who would benefit from the reform being halted."

Experts warn that elements of the reform could deepen polarization. Rowan noted that the recent tit-for-tat prosecutions of both liberal and conservative former presidents and their families "partakes of a concern for limiting executive power, politics and polarization." He added, "I think that Korean democracy is strong, but since there have been for some time allegations for nearly each and every administration, it tends to make the public more cynical over time." Engel described the Democratic Party's unilateral push and the public backlash as "a symptom of polarization," saying, "In that sense, pushing for prosecutorial reform will undoubtedly elevate or maintain polarization in the short-term, because a polarized society has polarized views of prosecutorial reform. However, in the long-term, prosecutorial reform, if successful in depoliticizing the prosecution, can help alleviate polarization."

The revision to the Criminal Procedure Act is expected to be forwarded to the plenary session soon, and the party has announced plans for a party-line vote. The outcome will determine whether South Korea's prosecution system undergoes a fundamental transformation — and whether the decades-long drive for reform can finally be realized without further deepening the country's political divide.

Source: The Korea Herald News