▲ Lawmakers of the main opposition People Power Party hold a general meeting of its lawmakers in front of the newly launched Serious Crimes Investigation Agency in Seoul on Oct. 1, 2026, a day ahead of its launch. The establishment of the agency and the restructured Prosecution Service is part of the Lee Jae Myung administration's prosecution reform aimed at stripping the prosecution of investigative rights, tasking it with only indicting and maintaining indictments against suspects. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Oct. 2 (Yonhap) -- The ruling and main opposition parties differed Friday over the launch of two new agencies as part of the prosecution reform, with the ruling Democratic Party (DP) welcoming the overhaul and the opposition raising concerns that the agencies were launched without being fully prepared.

The prosecution office was abolished after 78 years as part of a reform drive aimed at stripping the prosecution of its investigative powers amid criticism that prosecutors have exercised excessive authority.

Two new agencies -- the Prosecution Office and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency (SCIA) -- were launched earlier in the day, with the former only tasked with indicting and maintaining indictments against suspects. The SCIA will handle investigations into corruption, economic crimes and other serious crimes.

"A new chapter in the history of the criminal justice system begins that will better protect the lives of the people and safeguard human rights," DP floor leader Han Byung-do, said during a meeting of the party's Supreme Council.

"What will disappear into history is the prosecution's unchecked power of holding both investigative and indictment rights, while the investigative function will remain fully intact," he added.

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) raised concerns that victims could be left with fewer safeguards when police investigations are inadequate.

The police have come under growing scrutiny in recent months over their mishandling of several cases, including one involving a woman who went missing on the southern resort island of Jeju that was closed without confirming her safety.

The PPP also argued that the new agencies had been launched without being fully prepared to handle criminal cases, citing staffing shortages and a leadership vacuum.

"Prosecutors have undoubtedly made mistakes throughout the prosecution's 78-year history but is getting completely rid of the prosecution service really the answer?" PPP floor leader Jeong Jeom-sig said during a party meeting.

Rep. Park Choong-kwon, a senior PPP spokesperson, pointed out in a commentary that the SCIA had launched with only about 1,900 employees, or just 66 percent of the total workforce capacity of 2,874.

"Prosecutors have been stripped of their supplementary investigative rights even though the new system's basic framework is still incomplete," he said.

The SCIA began operations without a chief in place, with President Lee Jae Myung requesting a parliamentary confirmation hearing for Kim Ji-yong, his nominee to head the agency, earlier in the day.

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