▲ President Lee Jae Myung attends a Cabinet meeting in Seoul on Aug. 4, 2026. (Yonhap)

(ATTN: UPDATES with more remarks in paras 4-9)

SEOUL, Aug. 4 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday defended a recently passed legal revision abolishing prosecutors' authority to conduct direct investigations as "the beginning of judicial normalization," signaling his intention to sign the bill into law despite calls from the opposition party to veto it.

The president made the remarks at a Cabinet meeting following the National Assembly's passage of the revision to the Criminal Procedure Act, under which the prosecution will be stripped of its authority to conduct direct investigations, including supplementary investigation, leaving investigations solely to the police.

"Separating investigations from indictments is the starting point for normalizing the abnormal criminal justice system," Lee said. His remarks signaled the Cabinet's intention to give final approval to the revision, despite the main opposition bloc's call for him to use his presidential authority to veto the bill.

The president noted that the presidential veto power should be exercised only when the constitutional order is at risk or the separation of powers among the legislative, judicial and executive branches is threatened, adding that the bill does not warrant its use.

"There were many controversies, but it is difficult to view this as a situation serious enough to be unconstitutional, infringe on the executive branch's authority or undermine the National Assembly's legislative power," Lee said.

Lee asserted that prosecutors have exercised "excessive" authority ranging from indictments to the right to request court warrants over the past several decades, leading to what he called an abnormal system in which they sometimes have abused their power to cover up or target certain cases.

Still, the transferring of investigative authority solely to the police could also create unintended consequences, the president warned, instructing officials to devise complementary systems to ensure transparency and capability in police investigations.

The president said prosecutors should remain more faithful than ever to their role as chief defenders of the public interest and human rights, while the police need to redouble efforts to eradicate internal irregularities and strengthen the protection of victims.

"No reform can be completed easily through the change of a single system," Lee stressed, instructing officials to thoroughly oversee the implementation of the new system and to promptly address any shortcomings when detected.

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