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🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

DP slams PPP for 'pro-prosecutor' stance on Jeju case

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • The Democratic Party criticized the People Power Party for advocating for the return of prosecutors' supplementary investigation powers, using the Jeju false missing person report case as justification.
  • The DP argued that the current system, which includes prosecutors' supplementary investigation powers, did not prevent the police's mishandling of the Jeju case.
  • The party called for police reform and strengthening police accountability, rather than expanding prosecutorial authority.

The Democratic Party (DP) on August 29 sharply criticized the People Power Party (PPP) for its stance on the Jeju false missing person report case. The DP accused the PPP of using the incident to push for the reinstatement of prosecutors' supplementary investigation powers, urging them to cease their "pro-prosecutor" arguments.

The PPP is using the police's poor investigation as a basis to argue for increasing prosecutorial authority.

— Lee Ju-heeCriticizing the People Power Party's political maneuvering regarding the Jeju case.

DP floor spokesperson Lee Ju-hee stated that while the police's false closure of the missing person report and subsequent inadequate investigation are unacceptable, returning to a system that expands prosecutorial powers is not the solution. Lee pointed out that the Jeju case occurred while prosecutors still possessed supplementary investigation powers under current law. "The PPP is using the police's poor investigation as a basis to argue for increasing prosecutorial authority," Lee said, criticizing the PPP's perspective as being stuck in the "Yoon Suk-yeol government's era of bloated prosecutorial power."

The DP emphasized that police misconduct should be addressed through police reform. "Police errors must be corrected through police reform," Lee asserted, adding that the party would pursue police reform without any sacred cows, including institutional and cultural changes, and democratic oversight.

Police errors must be corrected through police reform.

— Lee Ju-heeStating the Democratic Party's position on addressing police misconduct.

DP spokesperson Son Myung-soo echoed these sentiments, stating that the recent instances of police mishandling cases and irresponsible handling of incidents cannot be dismissed as mere individual misconduct. "If there are things that need to be changed in the system, organizational culture, and even democratic control, they must be changed without exception," Son said. He added that as police powers have expanded, so too must their responsibilities. "We will pursue police reform from the perspective of the public's expectations."

If there are things that need to be changed in the system, organizational culture, and even democratic control, they must be changed without exception.

— Son Myung-sooCalling for comprehensive reforms within the police force.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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