Jeon Jong-min and Lee Jung-hyun, the deputy chiefs serving as acting heads of the newly established Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and Prosecution Agency, respectively, attended a Cabinet meeting on Oct. 6. Kim Jong-chul, the acting commissioner general of the National Police Agency, was there as well. Having the heads of the prosecution and police attend Cabinet meetings is a new practice under the Lee Jae-myung administration. The Presidential Office says the arrangement is intended to facilitate the sharing of government policies. The opposition says it could undermine public confidence in the criminal justice system by repeatedly bringing into the Cabinet agencies that investigate those in power.
The Prosecution Agency Act and Serious Crimes Investigation Agency Act, both enacted last year, require prosecutors and investigators to remain politically neutral. Similar requirements apply to police officers under the Police Officials Act and other laws. But independence cannot be secured by legal provisions alone. Agencies with the power to investigate and prosecute, and to restrict people’s liberty in the process, must be trusted to operate free of political influence. That trust is a basic condition for the rule of law. Previous administrations reflected that principle by keeping the prosecutor general and police commissioner out of Cabinet meetings, with government instructions conveyed through the relevant ministers instead.
That principle matters even more now. Strengthening the political neutrality of investigative agencies and curbing abuses of power were among the main goals of the recent overhaul of the Criminal Procedure Act. Yet the Democratic Party of Korea is already facing criticism over a plan to limit the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials to investigations involving judicial institutions while giving the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency jurisdiction over cases involving the president, prime minister and lawmakers. The Corruption Investigation Office has warned that putting investigations of the president and prime minister in the hands of agencies under the presidential chain of command would weaken the system of checks and balances. There are also lingering concerns that the Prosecution Agency could be pressured to withdraw a prosecution in a case involving the president.
The government should be particularly careful to preserve the independence of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and Prosecution Agency, and to ensure that their independence is clearly visible, as the new criminal justice system takes shape. At the Cabinet meeting, President Lee said, “Investigative and prosecutorial powers must never again be abused or manipulated by political power. Investigate crimes involving powerful figures in society thoroughly, without the slightest hesitation, regardless of whether they are on your side or mine, or whether they belong to the ruling or opposition party.” But those words invite skepticism when the heads of the agencies expected to investigate political power are sitting at the same Cabinet table. If the government wants the public to believe that these agencies will pursue powerful figures without regard to political affiliation, it must also give them enough distance from political power to make that independence credible.
Source: www.donga.com
