ID :
191967
Thu, 06/30/2011 - 09:24
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/191967
The shortlink copeid
Lee urges prosecutors to act in 'mature' way
(ATTN: UPDATES with Lee's speech at international prosecutors' conference in last 3 paras)
SEOUL, June 30 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak said Thursday the prosecution should act in a "mature" way, apparently expressing displeasure after five top prosecutors offered to resign en masse in protest of a proposed law revision seen as restricting their investigative control of police.
"I hope (prosecutors) will show a mature attitude of thinking from the people's perspective," Lee told Prosecutor-General Kim Joon-gyu after arriving at a convention center to deliver a speech at an international conference of chief prosecutors, according to presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha.
The chief prosecutor said he understood what Lee said and nodded, according to the spokesman.
Earlier, presidential aides said that Lee expressed concern over the prosecution's protest. Lee was quoted as saying Wednesday night that prosecutors "should not be seen as taking collective action" and they have to deal with the issue "wisely."
Prosecutors grew upset after the parliamentary judiciary committee on Tuesday revised last week's hard-won compromise over how to share investigative rights with police in a way that they believe restricts their oversight of police investigations.
Last week's agreement calls for allowing police to open investigations on their own under supervision of prosecutors. It had stipulated that details on the prosecution's oversight of police probes will be determined by a justice ministerial decree.
But the ruling and opposition parties revised that clause to say that a presidential decree will determine those specifics. Prosecutors believe the change hurts their rights because drawing up a presidential degree effectively requires consent from police.
The revision will become final if it passes through a parliamentary plenary session.
On Wednesday, five top prosecutors offered to step down in protest. Prosecutor-General Kim also plans to offer his resignation early next week after he presides over an international conference of chief prosecutors that opened in Seoul on Thursday.
"There are various rows in our society. Frictions between classes with different interests are unnerving people," President Lee said during an economic policy meeting Thursday morning, apparently referring to the prosecution-police dispute.
"It is very important to cooperate and have more dialogue at a time like this. We need to try to understand each other and share wisdom," he said, according to senior presidential spokesman Kim Du-woo.
Presidential officials said that they were watching the situation, saying that the prosecution should deal with the issue in a "prudent and cool-headed manner."
During the speech at the international prosecutors' conference, Lee said South Korea has seen the "values of justice and fairness" declining in the course of rapid industrialization and called for making society fairer through the rule of law.
Lee also said that South Korean prosecutors are facing increasingly higher expectations from the people, a remark seen as meaning that the organization should break away from old ways of doing business and reform itself.
The two-day "world summit" at the COEX convention center in southern Seoul drew prosecution chiefs and representatives from 107 nations. The participants will discuss ways of cooperation in fighting international crime and issue a joint declaration at the end of the conference.
SEOUL, June 30 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak said Thursday the prosecution should act in a "mature" way, apparently expressing displeasure after five top prosecutors offered to resign en masse in protest of a proposed law revision seen as restricting their investigative control of police.
"I hope (prosecutors) will show a mature attitude of thinking from the people's perspective," Lee told Prosecutor-General Kim Joon-gyu after arriving at a convention center to deliver a speech at an international conference of chief prosecutors, according to presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha.
The chief prosecutor said he understood what Lee said and nodded, according to the spokesman.
Earlier, presidential aides said that Lee expressed concern over the prosecution's protest. Lee was quoted as saying Wednesday night that prosecutors "should not be seen as taking collective action" and they have to deal with the issue "wisely."
Prosecutors grew upset after the parliamentary judiciary committee on Tuesday revised last week's hard-won compromise over how to share investigative rights with police in a way that they believe restricts their oversight of police investigations.
Last week's agreement calls for allowing police to open investigations on their own under supervision of prosecutors. It had stipulated that details on the prosecution's oversight of police probes will be determined by a justice ministerial decree.
But the ruling and opposition parties revised that clause to say that a presidential decree will determine those specifics. Prosecutors believe the change hurts their rights because drawing up a presidential degree effectively requires consent from police.
The revision will become final if it passes through a parliamentary plenary session.
On Wednesday, five top prosecutors offered to step down in protest. Prosecutor-General Kim also plans to offer his resignation early next week after he presides over an international conference of chief prosecutors that opened in Seoul on Thursday.
"There are various rows in our society. Frictions between classes with different interests are unnerving people," President Lee said during an economic policy meeting Thursday morning, apparently referring to the prosecution-police dispute.
"It is very important to cooperate and have more dialogue at a time like this. We need to try to understand each other and share wisdom," he said, according to senior presidential spokesman Kim Du-woo.
Presidential officials said that they were watching the situation, saying that the prosecution should deal with the issue in a "prudent and cool-headed manner."
During the speech at the international prosecutors' conference, Lee said South Korea has seen the "values of justice and fairness" declining in the course of rapid industrialization and called for making society fairer through the rule of law.
Lee also said that South Korean prosecutors are facing increasingly higher expectations from the people, a remark seen as meaning that the organization should break away from old ways of doing business and reform itself.
The two-day "world summit" at the COEX convention center in southern Seoul drew prosecution chiefs and representatives from 107 nations. The participants will discuss ways of cooperation in fighting international crime and issue a joint declaration at the end of the conference.
