South Korean govt finalises reorganisation plan to dismantle prosecution service

Seoul, Sep 7 (IANS) A plan to reorganise the government under the Lee Jae Myung administration was finalised Sunday, with the existing headquarters of the prosecution to be dismantled and replaced by new agencies, officials said.

Under the plan confirmed in a meeting of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), the government and the presidential office, the Prosecution Service will be scrapped and two new agencies will be created to separately take on the prosecution's indictment and investigative powers, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The move comes as part of Lee's drive to reform the prosecution, which the DP says is intended to curb prosecutors from abusing their powers and end politically motivated investigations.

The new agencies will each be established under the Justice Ministry and the Interior Ministry, according to Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung and Rep. Han Jeoung-ae, the DP's top policymaker, who unveiled the envisioned plan in a press briefing.

The change will take place a year after the plan is approved at the National Assembly and announced to the public, they said, adding that a task force overseeing the government's prosecution reform push will be installed under the prime minister's office.

The plan also includes stripping the Finance < Ministry of its budget planning role and creating a new agency supervised by the Prime Minister that will take on the function, in addition to drawing up mid- to long-term state development strategies.

Part of the Financial Services Commission's roles involving the domestic financial sector will be transferred to the Finance Ministry, with the plan set to go into effect on January 2.

The Environment Ministry will be expanded to take on energy policy tasks currently conducted by the industry ministry, while the statistics office and the patent office will be elevated.

"The revision centres on minimising the state's financial burden while reorganising the government into a structure that can be efficiently managed," Yun said.

--IANS

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