On the 6th, President Lee Jae Myung said, “Even if a policy begins with good intentions, if the public cannot feel its effects or if it instead harms the lives of the people, it is worse than not doing it,” and added, “Flexible and proactive administration is needed that always examines every matter from the public perspective and, if there is a problem, actively fixes any issue without exceptions.”

At a meeting of senior presidential secretaries he chaired at the Blue House that day, President Lee said, “All outcomes of state affairs are ultimately evaluated by the sovereign people.” The remarks are being interpreted as having the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA), promulgated at the Cabinet meeting on the 4th, in mind. With the CPA amendments abolishing the supplementary investigation authority of the prosecution, some in civil society are concerned about the police concealing cases.

In a briefing that day, Kang Yu-jung, Senior Presidential Spokesperson at the Blue House, was asked the question, ‘Were President Lee’s remarks made with the amended CPA in mind?’, and said, “He was not pointing to any specific policy, bill, or ministry; he was emphasizing that speed and efficiency, and delivering outcomes the public can feel, are important with respect to the results of work reports.”

Earlier, at the Cabinet meeting on the 4th ahead of voting on the CPA amendment bill, President Lee stated, “There is no reform anywhere that is easily concluded with a single institutional change,” and added, “Follow-up measures, including revising laws and systems, are essential to address issues such as the police monopoly over investigative authority and its expansion.”

The previous day, during a work report from the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, President Lee also said, “(With the CPA amendments, the police) have aspects that make it very easy to cover up cases,” and instructed, “Find ways to supplement this.” Minister of Justice Jung Sung-ho reported to President Lee that, regarding the nine joint police-prosecution investigation headquarters currently operating on drug crimes, financial and securities crimes, and voice phishing, “(Due to the CPA amendments) the legal basis for any investigations has disappeared,” and that “the basis for operating the joint headquarters is very weak.”

Seong Ki-hong, Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Relations and Communication at the Blue House, said on CBS Radio <Park Seong-tae News Show> in response to the question, ‘If problems arise after the law takes effect, could the CPA be amended to revive the supplementary investigation authority of the prosecution?’, “If there are problems, a major principle is to change things swiftly and decisively in line with the public’s expectations.”