Rival parties are continuing to cast aspersions over the Constitutional Court’s ruling that legal revisions restricting the prosecution's investigative powers are valid.
In the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Monday, the ruling People Power Party(PPP) called the court decision “biased” while claiming the main opposition Democratic Party(DP) is "obsessed" with limiting the prosecution's power to block its investigation of DP chief Lee Jae-myung.
The DP, on its part, called on justice minister Han Dong-hoon to apologize for filing a petition against the National Assembly that contested the legitimacy of the revisions to the Prosecutors' Office Act and the Criminal Procedure Act.
Passed by parliament eleven months ago, the revisions sought to restrict the prosecution’s authority to open investigations to only two types of crimes – those concerning corruption and the economy.
In response, Han said the DP should be the one offering an apology for railroading the bills through parliament, citing the Constitutional Court’s acknowledgement in its ruling that the procedures undertaken to pass the changes were unconstitutional and illegal.
The minister also addressed claims that some in the DP are aiming to get him impeached, saying that he will respond to such calls without fear.