Signal Korea's ruling party advances bill stripping prosecutors of direct investigative power

Summary

South Korea's ruling Democratic Party led passage of a Criminal Procedure Act amendment through the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, aiming to fully abolish prosecutors' direct and supplementary investigative powers. Under the amendment, prosecutors would only be able to request supplementary investigations from police, who would then have to complete them within a month. The bill was tabled for a plenary vote, and the main opposition People Power Party launched a filibuster to try to block it. The amendment represents a major restructuring of the investigative balance between prosecutors and police in Korea's criminal justice system. Attention now turns to whether the standoff between the parties will affect the plenary outcome.