South Korea's ruling bloc is pushing to dismantle the Prosecutors' Office by passing an amendment to the Government Organization Act this week, but some legal experts raised the issue that such a move could violate legislative norms and create confusion in law enforcement.
The amendment, scheduled for a plenary vote at the National Assembly on Thursday, would mark a major step in dissolving the country's central prosecutorial body that was launched in 1948. It would remove the term "Prosecutors' Office" from the Government Organization Act, which is mentioned multiple times throughout the statute. The organizational structure and functions of the Prosecutors' Office will remain in place for the time being.
The government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea plan to deliberate and pass a series of bills to set up the separate indictment and investigation agencies on a later timeline.
That sequencing, however, breaches the guidelines set by the Ministry of Government Legislation, which emphasize that when one law is revised, all other statutes affected by the change should be amended simultaneously, according to some critics.
Cha Jin-a, a law professor at Korea University, told The Korea Herald that simply passing an amendment to the Government Organization Act will not make the Prosecutors' Office disappear overnight.
"This isn't just about striking out the words 'Prosecutors' Office' from the law. An overhaul of this scale requires detailed legislation and further related amendments," she said.
Cha explained that "pushing through the organizational amendment while leaving the details for later risks a legal vacuum." With hundreds of statutes and regulations still naming the Prosecutors' Office as the responsible authority, the sudden disappearance of the agency could leave courts and law enforcement officials unsure of how to proceed, she added.
Therefore, if the ruling bloc pushes ahead with only amending the Government Organization Act while postponing the enactment of the laws establishing the separate indictment and investigation agencies, it could run counter to these standards.
The ministry's guidelines, published last year, state that "when revising a law, there are cases where the provisions of other related laws must be amended simultaneously," adding that "if each is amended through separate bills, the time gap may cause confusion; therefore, two or more related amendments should be included in a single bill."
An official at the Ministry of Government Legislation, who requested anonymity, said that "it is not impossible to revise the provision, launch the agencies and prepare the amendments afterwards."
This is similar to other newly created or abolished ministries, the spokesperson added, explaining that even when their full operational direction had not yet been determined, the ministries' and agencies' names were changed and reflected in the Government Organization Act first, with preparations made afterward.
A group of retired prosecutors recently expressed concerns that the government and the ruling party's reform plan would conflict with constitutional law.
"South Korea's first constitution, promulgated in 1948, among countless government posts, singled out only the 'Prosecutor General' as a matter for Cabinet deliberation, and this principle has been firmly upheld throughout more than 70 years of constitutional history." The statement continued, "This clarifies that the 'Prosecutors' Office' and its head, the 'Prosecutor General,' are not merely administrative bodies but constitutional institutions guaranteed independence and neutrality at the constitutional level."
Despite these concerns, the ruling party has defended its timetable as necessary to deliver on its pledge of sweeping prosecutorial reform before next month's Chuseok holiday. It also cited a one-year grace period, with the law to take effect in 2026, included in the amendment behind his swift push.
The Democratic Party has indicated that if the main opposition People Power Party stages a filibuster against the amendment, it will once again activate the process of terminating the filibuster and passing the bill under the ruling party's lead.
In South Korea, the Prosecutors' Office has wielded authority both to investigate crimes and to indict suspects since 1978. Critics, including President Lee Jae Myung and his Democratic Party, argue that this dual role has given the Prosecutors' Office excessive influence, out of step with practices in other democracies.
The reform proposal seeks to separate the powers of investigation and prosecution by transferring investigative authority to the new independent investigative agency under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, while a newly created prosecution office would handle indictments under the Ministry of Justice.