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| Justice Minister Cho Kuk, sixth from left, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, seventh from left, ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Rep. Lee Hae-chan, sixth from right, Cheong Wa Dae chief policy secretary Kim Sang-jo, fourth from right, and senior officials of Cheong Wa Dae, the government and the DPK take a group photo before participating in a tripartite meeting between the three bodies to discuss ways to seek prosecution reform at the National Assembly, Sunday. Yonhap |
By Park Ji-won
Cheong Wa Dae, the government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) pledged to cooperate to seek prosecution reform, urging the National Assembly to pass relevant bills.
Stressing that he will wrap up the prosecution reform, Justice Minister Cho Kuk said during a tripartite meeting at the National Assembly Sunday, "It is better not to begin the reform rather than doing it in a halfhearted way. I ask the DPK, the administration and the presidential office to join hands together and share wisdom."
Cho also added that he and the prosecution agreed to push for the revision of regulations aiming to shut down the prosecution's special investigations bureau at the Prosecutors' Office and rename and change it into a criminal investigation department. He also said the two also discussed ways to downsize direct investigation divisions while pushing for the revision of regulations to get rid of interrogations held through the night as well as the practice of publicly summoning suspects or witnesses.
Cho, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, DPK Chairman Rep. Lee Hae-chan, DPK floor leader Lee In-young, Cheong Wa Dae chief policy secretary Kim Sang-jo and senior officials of the ruling bloc attended the meeting.
Rep. Hong Ihk-pyo of the DPK, who took part in the meeting, also said Cho will announce further reform measures on Monday. The measures will be implemented under the presidential decree, Hong added.
The remarks came amid controversy over Cho's appointment due to corruption allegations against him and his family members and the related prosecution investigation of them. Citizens are divided over the matter, holding rallies supporting the government's reform drive on the prosecution and opposing the government's policies. Opposition parties are demanding Cho's resignation and Moon's apology over the Cabinet reshuffle including Cho.
Claiming that the reason behind the protests demanding prosecution reform is because of the culture of the organization, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon also supported the reform drive, saying, "I hope the prosecution will change its actions and culture so that the organization can have the people's trust and become a democratic agency contributing to the progress of democracy."
Rep. Lee In-young of the DPK urged opposition parties to join the swift passage of the prosecution reform bill.
Claiming that the prosecution reform is a demand from the people, Lee said, "The DPK has made a proposal to other political parties to come up with reform bills as fast as possible through dialogue and discussion. We hope the opposition parties could make a bold decision for the people at the end of 20th Assembly." He also said the DPK will work to put an end to the prosecution reform through the fast-track bid. The political parties, apart from the main opposition party, agreed to fast-track the prosecution reform bill in April.
