▲ Lawmakers of the main opposition People Power Party stage a rally outside a room where a plenary meeting of the parliamentary legislation and judiciary committee is scheduled to be held at the National Assembly on July 8, 2026. (Yonhap)

ruling party-prosecution

DP introduces bill scrapping prosecution's right to supplementary investigations

SEOUL, July 8 (Yonhap) -- The ruling Democratic Party (DP) introduced a bill Wednesday that would abolish the prosecution's right to conduct supplementary investigations.

The DP introduced the revision to the Criminal Procedure Act during a meeting of the National Assembly Committee on Legislation and Judiciary despite protests from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) whose committee members boycotted the meeting.

PPP lawmakers instead staged a rally outside, criticizing the ruling party's unilateral move to advance the bill amid stalled negotiations between the two parties over the allocation of standing committee chairs.

The DP-controlled National Assembly last week elected the chiefs of a special budget committee and 10 parliamentary standing committees, including the judiciary committee, which is a key Assembly panel that has the power to approve bills before they are put to a plenary vote.

Late last month, then Prime Minister Kim Min-seok announced that the government had reached a conclusion on scrapping the prosecution's right to supplementary investigations, though adding that the government will respect the National Assembly's decision without proposing a new bill.

The DP's move came as it has pushed ahead with a prosecution reform bill that calls for dismantling the prosecution and creating two new agencies each tasked with handling investigations and indictments.

The legislation passed parliament and the Cabinet in March and is scheduled to take effect in October.

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