Lee Jae Myung Orders Police Reform Body After Scandals

President Lee Jae Myung ordered the creation of a dedicated government body to oversee police reform during a cabinet meeting on August 25. The directive comes as a revision to the Criminal Procedure Act, scheduled for October 2, will strip prosecutors of all investigative authority and grant that power solely to the police.

Lee warned that concentrated power creates problems and stated that police accountability must increase to match their expanding authority. The push for reform follows widespread public outrage over police misconduct and investigation failures. In Gwangju, police allegedly attempted to downplay charges in a premeditated murder case to protect the suspect's father, who is also a police officer. In Jeju, an inspector reportedly falsified documents to close a missing-person case without confirming the woman's safety.

During the same meeting, Lee instructed officials to accelerate lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 13 for serious crimes. He also urged a finance strategy focused on industrial competitiveness and future growth to leverage the AI-driven semiconductor boom.