In 2019, then Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol is seen leaving the inauguration ceremony held at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Chang-gil.
The People Power Party (PPP), the ruling party during the tenure of former President Yoon Seok-yeol, a former prosecutor general, criticized the Democratic Party’s decision to abolish the prosecution office as part of the reformation of the Government Organization Act, questioning if they aim to turn the country into a “crime haven.”
According to the PPP on the 28th, Chief Spokesperson Park Sung-hoon condemned the passing of the amendment bill focused on abolishing the prosecution office, calling it a “bad amendment to protect power,” following its approval in the National Assembly on the 26th.
Park criticized the move as a hasty legislation aimed at appeasing the party’s hardline supporters, arguing that the reform lacks a plan to reorganize the 2,300 prosecutors, ultimately harming innocent citizens caught in jurisdictional disputes.
At a press conference in the National Assembly, Representative Jang Dong-hyuk alarmed that the passage of the Government Organization Act, which dissolves the prosecution office—a key component of the judiciary for 78 years—could have unforeseeable repercussions.
Han Dong-hoon, former PPP leader and the first Minister of Justice under the Yoon administration, wrote on Facebook stating, “The Democratic Party regime has eradicated the prosecution rather than crime.” Representative Na Kyung-won argued on Facebook that reform should correct deficiencies, not dismantle an entire pillar of the country’s criminal justice system, predicting a future where criminals are emboldened while victims are overlooked.
Joo Jin-woo, a former legal secretary in Yoon’s presidential office, stated on Facebook during the passage of the amendment bill, that this legislative maneuver would result in inevitable public harm concerning budgets and fairness, calling it a turning point that would lead to the downfall of the Lee Jae-myung regime.
The prosecution office, which has existed since the establishment of the South Korean government in 1948, is set to be abolished in September next year, under the revised Government Organization Act. The Ministry of Justice will handle the prosecution and case maintenance, while the Ministry of Interior’s Serious Crime Investigation Agency will focus on direct investigations into corruption and economic crimes.
The Democratic Party, leading the amendment, plans to introduce detailed legislation specifying the organization and operational scope of new institutions before their launch next year.
Former President Yoon’s impeachment and arrest due to the illegal martial law of December 3rd is seen as a factor limiting the opposition’s ability to protest the dismantling of the prosecution office.