Separating the rights to investigate and indict is a direction the nation needs to continue to move in, the president has said, adding reform of powerful agencies is still yet incomplete. 

While being briefed by the Justice Ministry and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on their major policies on Monday, President Moon Jae-in noted separating the rights once held by the prosecution is needed for checks and balances and the protection of human rights. 

Moon said although the steps forward in legislating the separation of powers is a matter for parliament, a responsible and orderly consideration of opinions from various sides, including members of the prosecution, should be factored in.  

The president said ideally the prosecution would play a central role for the realization of justice in the country. And despite the best efforts of most prosecutors, he lamented the investigative body has failed to earn public trust over fairness. 

He stressed prosecution reform will only be successful when the prosecution itself leads such reform efforts.

The president’s remarks come after former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl stepped down in protest of the ruling bloc’s efforts to further restrict the prosecution’s investigative rights by installing a separate agency handling serious crimes.