South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has pushed through a sweeping overhaul of the criminal justice system, stripping investigative powers from prosecutors he accuses of abusing their authority, including criminal cases against him before he took office.
A revised law that came into force Friday focuses on shifting power to police from prosecutors, leaving the latter primarily to decide whether cases should go to trial.
“The purpose of prosecution reform is to ensure that the powers and responsibilities entrusted to investigative and prosecutorial authorities to protect victims, human rights and the social order are not abused for politically motivated investigations and prosecutions,” Lee said last month, vowing to make the reform irreversible.
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