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Blue House and Cho Kuk party trade rebuttals over prosecution reform remarks
Версия 2: The Cho Kuk Innovation Party added an Oct. 6 commentary calling the Blue House notice a political act and Cho Kuk posted his own clarification on Facebook, while ruling-camp figures including the Democratic Party leader and the Gyeonggi governor urged restraint and reports tied the dispute to the contested nomination of the investigation agency's head and a confirmation hearing expected on Oct. 14.
Коротко
President Lee Jae-myung said in an Oct. 5 X post that the Cho Kuk Innovation Party and most prosecution-reform advocates had proposed putting the investigation and indictment bodies inside the Justice Ministry and giving the indictment body supplementary investigation rights, and that his government went further. The party rebutted the same day, saying it had proposed only the right to request supplementary investigation, and the Blue House issued a press notice that night citing Cho Kuk's Aug. 29, 2025 broadcast remarks. On Oct. 6 the party called the notice a political act and Cho called the dispute wasteful, while ruling-camp figures urged restraint ahead of a confirmation hearing for the investigation agency's nominee expected on Oct. 14.
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President Lee Jae-myung said in an X post on Oct. 5 that the Cho Kuk Innovation Party and most advocates of prosecution reform had proposed placing the investigation-focused agency and the indictment-focused service inside the Ministry of Justice, along with giving the indictment body supplementary investigation rights. He wrote that his government went further by separating investigation and indictment into the two bodies but assigning them to the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and that the claim to strip prosecutors' supplementary investigation rights was also carried out. [ 2 , 4 , 7 , 9 , 10 ]
The Cho Kuk Innovation Party rebutted the same day. Senior spokesperson Park Byeong-eon said the party had proposed the right to request supplementary investigation, not supplementary investigation rights, and that exceptions could be considered only in judicial emergencies such as an imminent statute of limitations or repeated non-compliance by police. The party also said it had changed its own party line on where the investigation body should sit, from the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Newsis and SBS reported. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 7 , 9 , 10 ]
That night the Blue House spokesperson's office issued a press notice saying Cho Kuk, then head of the party's innovation policy institute, had said on the YouTube programme “Jang Yoon-sun's News Convenience Store” on Aug. 29, 2025 that supplementary investigation should be recognised under conditions. It said the party had repeatedly changed positions on such details and asked it to join the completion of what it called the already irreversible prosecution reform rather than “cling pedantically to small differences.” Kyunghyang Shinmun reported the notice was issued at 11:21 p.m. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 9 , 10 ]
Asia Economy checked Cho's remarks and reported that he spoke of “the matter of the right to request supplementary investigation or supplementary investigation rights,” mixing the two terms, and that the Blue House and the party read the wording differently. The party says the two authorities are entirely different concepts. [ 4 ]
On Oct. 6 the party pushed back again. Spokesperson Lim Myeong-hee said in a commentary that the party expressed deep concern that the Blue House had taken a political act to carry through a political intention, and rejected what she called a frame of a changed position. Cho Kuk said on Facebook that abolishing prosecutors' direct supplementary investigation rights was in principle his position and the party line, that recognising exceptions in judicial emergencies had been his personal view, and that everyone should now work to settle the confirmed law. In comments reported by SBS, he asked whether the matter was urgent enough for a late-night press release and called it a wasteful argument. [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]
Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that the institutional reform was completed with the launch of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency and the Prosecution Service on Oct. 2, and that the dispute concerned past remarks rather than the reform itself. It reported that Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae wrote on Facebook that someone must keep asking, recording and remembering, and that Democratic Party leader Kim Min-suk said on the party's YouTube channel that the party may need to restrain excessive demands. The newspaper also quoted professor Choi Chang-ryul of Yongin University as saying both the president and the hardliners should show restraint and mutual tolerance. [ 9 ]
SBS reported that Lim Eun-jung, head of the Gwangju Serious Crime Investigation Agency, has publicly criticised Kim Ji-yong, the nominee to head the investigation agency, and said his confirmation hearing, expected on Oct. 14, would be a watershed in the ruling camp's dispute. [ 10 ]
Почему это важно
The exchange is an open dispute inside the camp that broadly backs the president over the design of prosecution reform, not between government and opposition. Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that the institutional reform was already completed with the launch of the two agencies on Oct. 2, so the argument is about past positions rather than pending legislation. SBS reported that the fight is tied to the contested nomination of the investigation agency's head and an expected confirmation hearing, which it called a watershed for the ruling camp's dispute.
Ключевые факты
- President Lee Jae-myung wrote on X on Oct. 5 that the Cho Kuk Innovation Party and most prosecution-reform advocates had proposed placing the investigation-focused agency and the indictment-focused service inside the Ministry of Justice, with supplementary investigation rights for the indictment body, and that his government went further. [ 2 , 4 , 7 , 9 , 10 ]
- The Cho Kuk Innovation Party said it had proposed the right to request supplementary investigation, not supplementary investigation rights, and that exceptions could be discussed only in judicial emergencies and cases strictly listed by law. [ 2 , 4 , 7 , 9 , 10 ]
- The party said it changed its own party line on where the investigation body should sit, from the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 7 , 10 ]
- The Blue House spokesperson's office issued a press notice citing Cho Kuk's remarks on the YouTube programme “Jang Yoon-sun's News Convenience Store” on Aug. 29, 2025 and asking the party to join the completion of the reform rather than “cling pedantically to small differences.” [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 9 , 10 ]
- Asia Economy, checking Cho Kuk's remarks, reported that he mixed the two terms, saying “the matter of the right to request supplementary investigation or supplementary investigation rights.” [ 4 ]
- On Oct. 6 party spokesperson Lim Myeong-hee said the party expressed deep concern that the Blue House had taken a political act to carry through a political intention. [ 8 , 9 ]
- Cho Kuk said on Facebook on Oct. 6 that abolishing prosecutors' direct supplementary investigation rights was his principled position and the party line, that recognising exceptions in judicial emergencies had been a personal view, and that the dispute was wasteful; SBS reported he asked whether the matter was urgent enough for a late-night press release. [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]
- Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that the Serious Crime Investigation Agency and the Prosecution Service were launched on Oct. 2, completing the institutional reform, and that Lim Eun-jung, head of the Gwangju agency, has publicly criticised the nominee to head the investigation agency, Kim Ji-yong, whose confirmation hearing is expected on Oct. 14. [ 9 , 10 ]
Подтверждено несколькими источниками
- President Lee Jae-myung posted on X on Oct. 5 about the design of prosecution reform, and the Cho Kuk Innovation Party rebutted the post the same day. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 7 , 9 , 10 ]
- The Blue House spokesperson's office issued a press notice on the night of Oct. 5 restating its position and citing Cho Kuk's Aug. 29, 2025 broadcast remarks. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 , 9 , 10 ]
- The Cho Kuk Innovation Party says it proposed the right to request supplementary investigation rather than supplementary investigation rights, and that it changed its party line on the investigation body's affiliation to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 7 , 10 ]
Пока неясно
- Whether Cho Kuk's Aug. 29, 2025 remarks referred to supplementary investigation rights or only to the right to request supplementary investigation. Asia Economy alone checked the remarks and reported Cho mixed the two terms, while the Blue House and the party read the same words differently; the other documents state the two sides' positions without resolving the wording.
- Exactly when and how the Cho Kuk Innovation Party changed its positions on supplementary investigation and on the investigation body's affiliation. This is asserted by the Blue House spokesperson's office; the party says its principle has been consistent and that only the institutional design was adjusted, and no document produces a full record of the earlier stances.
- Whether the exchange between the Blue House and the party is over. The latest documents report the party's Oct. 6 commentary and Cho Kuk's Facebook post, but no closing response from the Blue House.
- The date of the National Assembly confirmation hearing for Kim Ji-yong, the nominee to head the investigation agency. SBS reported the hearing is expected on Oct. 14; it is described as expected, not fixed, and only one document mentions it.
Что пишут местные СМИ
Хронология, местное время
- President Lee Jae-myung posts on X that the Cho Kuk Innovation Party and most reform advocates had proposed the two agencies inside the Justice Ministry with supplementary investigation rights for the indictment body, and that his government went further. [ 2 , 4 , 7 , 9 , 10 ]
- The Cho Kuk Innovation Party issues a statement through senior spokesperson Park Byeong-eon rebutting the post and saying it proposed the right to request supplementary investigation. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 7 , 9 , 10 ]
- The Blue House spokesperson's office issues a press notice citing Cho Kuk's Aug. 29, 2025 remarks and the party's changed positions, and asks it to join the reform's completion process. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 9 , 10 ]
- Asia Economy publishes its check of Cho Kuk's actual remarks, finding he used the two terms interchangeably. [ 4 ]
- Newsis reports the party's commentary by spokesperson Lim Myeong-hee, who says the Blue House took a political act and that the party expresses deep concern. [ 8 ]
- The Serious Crime Investigation Agency and the Prosecution Service are launched, completing the institutional reform, according to Kyunghyang Shinmun. [ 9 ]
- A National Assembly confirmation hearing for Kim Ji-yong, the nominee to head the investigation agency, is expected, which SBS calls a watershed in the ruling camp's dispute. [ 10 ]