JUSTICE MINISTRY FILES DISPUTE WITH COURT

[Anchor Lead]

The Justice Ministry has filed a competence dispute with the Constitutional Court against the National Assembly for its passage of laws that reduce the prosecution’s investigative powers. The ministry believes the legal revision infringes on people’s basic rights and also has serious procedural problems.

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The procedural process of the legal revision was clearly unconstitutional. This is the justice ministry’s argument in filing a petition with the Constitutional Court. Citing Article 1 of the Constitution, the ministry said a true majority rule is based on reasonable debate. But it went on to argue that the two revisions on stripping the prosecution’s investigative rights were passed not through majority rule but through numerical advantage. The ministry said the then ruling Democratic Party engaged in tactics to block the bills from being referred to an agenda coordination committee and also invalidated parliamentary filibusters, thereby violating principles of procedural democracy. It also insisted the content of the revision infringes on people’s basic rights. The ministry explained that with the police now taking over investigation of crimes related to public officials, elections and major disasters, it will become difficult to make corrections if investigations in the early stages are not properly conducted. The ministry argued that the prosecution indicting crimes only determined as such by the police obstructs the criminal justice system dictated by the Constitution. The justice ministry and the prosecution have also filed an injunction seeking to suspend the revised laws' implementation until a ruling is delivered, as the laws are set to take effect on September 10.

[Soundbite] Han Dong-hoon(Minister of Justice) : "I said it was an inevitable measure to prevent erroneous laws enacted through wrongful procedures from causing damage on the public."

The Constitutional Court is reviewing a separate petition regarding the same issue that was earlier filed by the People Power Party against the National Assembly speaker and the head of the Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee. The justice ministry notes that its request is different from the earlier one as it targets the parliament itself for restricting prosecutors’ rights to investigate and indict.