<Anchor>
According to the changed law, the number of subjects that the prosecution can directly investigate will be reduced from next month.
However, the Ministry of Justice changed the enforcement ordinance and decided to increase the prosecution's investigation authority again.
First, reporter Ahn Hee-jae will tell you about what the Ministry of Justice is promoting.
<Reporter>
According to the Prosecutor's Office Act, which was amended this spring by the Democratic Party, the prosecutors' direct investigation authority will be limited to major crimes prescribed by the Presidential Decree, such as corruption and economic crimes, from next month.
It will be reduced from 6 to 2 crimes, but the Ministry of Justice has effectively neutralized it through an enforcement decree.
The concept of corruption and economic crimes stipulated in other laws has been drawn up and the scope of the investigation has been expanded.
Corruption crimes include abuse of power, creation of false public documents, bribery, inducement of interest, and donations during election crimes, which are classified as public official crimes under the current enforcement decree.
Among defense industry crimes, technology leaks, drug distribution and gangsters, and voice phishing were also reclassified as economic crimes so that they could be investigated.
In this way, the prosecution's investigation target, which has been reduced to two, will be expanded to include elections, public officials, the defense industry, and drugs.
[Han Dong-hoon/Minister of Justice: I would like to ask what public benefit will our people and society gain if the nation's ability to respond to crimes as a whole deteriorates by excessively restricting the prosecution's investigation?
In order to minimize the gap in the law and damage to the people…
.]
Crimes that violate judicial order, such as innocence, were also added directly to the scope of the investigation by using the expression “corruption, economy, etc.” in the expression of important crimes prescribed by Presidential Decree.
The regulations limiting prosecution investigations according to status and amount have been abolished, allowing investigations to commence without restrictions.
[Jinah Cha/Professor, Graduate School of Law, Korea University: It is not right to do this as an enforcement decree in the direction of dismissing the purpose of the law of a higher corporation while the unconstitutional decision has not yet been made.
But because the law itself is too big a problem…
.]
The Ministry of Justice said that it is an amendment to the enforcement ordinance that is in line with the legal system based on the revised Prosecutor's Office Act, and announced that it would give notice of the legislation tomorrow (12th).
(Video coverage: Hwang In-seok, Seol Min-hwan, video editing: Yu Mira)
▶ Democratic Party "Ministry of Justice, all-out war with the National Assembly when the Investigative Authority Act is neutralized"