Top prosecutor stresses political neutrality

The newly appointed top prosecutor pledged Friday to establish political neutrality within the prosecution as part of its reform measures, citing growing public distrust.

Prosecutor General Kim Jin-tae made the remarks during a meeting attended by a group of senior prosecutors of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and district offices.

"(The prosecution) must reflect on itself and ask why it is constantly pointed out (by the public) for lacking political neutrality," Kim said, asking them perform their duties in a nonpartisan manner.

The prosecution has recently come under fire due to allegations that it tried to soft-pedal an investigation into government agencies' alleged meddling in last year's presidential election.

Also, the prosecution came under public scrutiny after a senior prosecutor who had headed the investigation into the election-meddling scandal before being dismissed accused his superior of pressuring the team to not aggressively pursue the probe.

Responding to growing public calls for sweeping reforms, prosecutors laid out a series of remedial measures.

The prosecution office said it will make efforts to root out the rampant practice of disclosing confidential information on suspects in the midst of a criminal investigation.

In violation of criminal law, the practice by both the prosecution and police of revealing information on ongoing criminal cases, such as the nature of the charges filed, before a formal indictment, has largely been condoned.

Prosecutors also said they plan to establish a system within the prosecution office to resolve conflicts between prosecutors as well as communication problems. (Yonhap News)