Cabinet approves bills on lighter punishments for 'internal witnesses'

SEOUL, July 12 (Yonhap) -- The Cabinet approved on Tuesday revisions of criminal laws to allow reduced penalties or even immunity from indictment for criminal suspects who give testimony in court or cooperate in investigations to help solve serious crimes, the Justice Ministry said.
The revisions to the Criminal Law and the Code of Criminal Procedures will pave the way for criminal suspects to receive reduced penalties or avoid indictment for giving critical clues or testimony that help solve criminal cases or lead to the arrest of accomplices, the ministry said.
The newly revised laws will be applied to corruption, drug dealing and terrorism cases as well as violent crimes, in which witness testimonies are in critical demand, said the ministry, noting the changes should pass through the National Assembly before taking effect.
The changes differ from plea bargaining, in which a defendant pleads his or her own guilt in return for lighter penalties, the ministry explained.
The revisions also include granting prosecutors the authority to call in witnesses by force in case they repeatedly reject the prosecution's summons for unacceptable reasons as well as establishing punishments for witnesses who give false testimony.
While ministry officials said the new laws will help the country more effectively solve criminal cases, human rights activists argue they impinge on the rights of defendants who could lose the chance to take a plea bargain due to evidence divulged by others.