South Korea's National Assembly approves special prosecutor law and moves to end prosecution’s direct investigative role

South Korea special prosecutor law prosecution reform amendment fast‑track bill reduction National Assembly agreement election ballot shortage investigation

On 30 July, South Korea’s National Assembly passed a law establishing a special prosecutor to investigate the July 3 local‑election ballot‑shortage scandal and related election‑management allegations. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the opposition People Power Party (PPP) reached a final agreement on the law’s scope, the composition of the investigation team (up to 165 members) and the maximum 170‑day investigation period.

At the same time, the Assembly is preparing an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act that would strip prosecutors of their supplementary‑investigation powers and dramatically shorten the fast‑track bill review period from up to 330 days to roughly 90 days. The DPK plans to push the amendment through a plenary session on 30 July, while the PPP has signaled its intent to filibuster both the prosecution‑reform and fast‑track measures. The special‑investigation committee’s mandate was also extended by about a month, with a re‑examination of 2.47 million ballot boxes scheduled for 18 August at the Olympic Park handball arena.

Entities

Criminal Procedure Act · Democratic Party · Democratic Party of Korea · Democratic Party of Korea (더불어민주당) · Kim Seung-won (김승원) · Kim Seung‑won · Law & Judiciary Committee · National Assembly Law and Judiciary Committee (법제사법위원회) · National Assembly of South Korea · National Assembly of South Korea · Park Hyung‑soo · People Power Party

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

[DISPUTED] The amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act removes prosecutors' right to request supplementary investigations. www.hani.co.kr · biz.heraldcorp.com
[● 5 SOURCES] The Democratic Party plans to move the amendment to the full committee and plenary session on 30 July. www.hani.co.kr
[● 3 SOURCES] The amendment will be processed in the full session of the Law & Judiciary Committee on 30 July. www.hani.co.kr · biz.heraldcorp.com
[● 3 SOURCES] The amendment requires electronic recording of investigation procedures and storage in the KICS system. www.hani.co.kr
[● 4 SOURCES] The amendment expands victims', complainants' and accusers' rights to appeal police non‑prosecution decisions. www.hani.co.kr
[● 6 SOURCES] The amendment includes a fast‑track procedural reform reducing the maximum review period from 330 days to 90 days. www.hani.co.kr · www.koreatimes.co.kr · biz.heraldcorp.com
[● 4 SOURCES] People Power Party members walked out of the sub‑committee meeting and refused to vote, calling the process a legislative overreach. www.hani.co.kr · biz.heraldcorp.com
[● 4 SOURCES] People Power Party demanded a joint public hearing and restoration of a bipartisan review process. www.hani.co.kr
[● 5 SOURCES] Both ruling and opposition parties agreed on a special prosecutor law to investigate the 6·3 local‑election ballot‑shortage scandal, and the bill passed in the National Assembly on 30 July. idsn.co.kr · www.imaeil.com · www.hani.co.kr · www.donga.com · biz.heraldcorp.com
[● 5 SOURCES] The special prosecutor law authorises the appointment of a special prosecutor and a team of investigators to examine alleged election‑management violations and the handling of 2.47 million stored vote idsn.co.kr · www.imaeil.com · www.hani.co.kr · www.donga.com · biz.heraldcorp.com
[● 3 SOURCES] The amendment would shorten the fast‑track bill review period from a maximum of 330 days to about 90 days. www.hani.co.kr · www.koreatimes.co.kr
[● 5 SOURCES] The National Assembly is considering an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act that would eliminate prosecutors’ right to conduct supplementary investigations. www.hani.co.kr · www.koreatimes.co.kr · www.seoul.co.kr