Song Eon-seok, floor leader of the People Power Party, speaks at a forum on the "Problems of the Government Organization Act: Focusing on the Central Criminal Investigation Agency (CCIA)" held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 17th. Yonhap News. 

The People Power Party asserted that the amendment to the Government Organization Act, which the Democratic Party of Korea plans to pass on the 25th, "abolishing the Prosecutor's Office and creating a Central Criminal Investigation Agency (CCIA) and a Prosecution Office will be the beginning of the downfall of the Lee Jae-myung administration."

Rep. Joo Ho-young, deputy speaker of the National Assembly, made this statement on the 17th at a forum on the Government Organization Act co-hosted by the People Power Party's Public Administration and Security Committee and Policy Committee.

Rep. Joo stated, "The public knows that the reason for dismantling the Prosecutor's Office is retaliation for the indictment of President Lee Jae-myung, and that they intend to disempower the prosecution because cases that require prosecution must be tried even after retirement."

Rep. Seo Beom-soo said, "The Government Organization Act is an important law directly related to the future of the Republic of Korea," adding, "I cannot understand why there is such urgency, as if roasting beans over a lightning fire."

He further conveyed, "I proposed holding a joint meeting where we could discuss with the standing committee members, as it spans across various standing committees, but it was flatly rejected (by the Democratic Party)."

Kim Min-ho, a professor at Sungkyunkwan University Law School who moderated the forum, said, "It is concerning that this Government Organization Act is an attempt to amend not just to enhance organizational efficiency, but to fundamentally overturn the foundation of the judicial system, raising concerns of unconstitutionality."

An opinion was also presented emphasizing the need to separate investigative and prosecutorial powers, citing the case of Choi Mal-ja, who was acquitted after a retrial 61 years later.

Kim Myeon-gi, a professor at the Police University's Graduate School of Police Administration, stated, "It is questionable whether the prosecution would have insisted on a guilty verdict so stubbornly if illegal investigation was confirmed during the police investigation process," adding, "The Choi case shows how dangerously a single entity holding both investigative and prosecutorial powers can operate."

Yonhap News