Chief of the Jeju Provincial Police Agency Ko Pyeong-gi, front right, and other senior police officials apologize during a leadership meeting at the agency headquarters on Aug. 27 over multiple cases in which missing persons reports were falsely closed by Jeju police, including that of Jang Mi-ran, whose report was improperly closed by an officer and who was later found dead.NEWS1
Lee Sang-ryeol
The author is a senior editorial writer at the JoongAng Ilbo.
When writer Ryu Si-min called President Lee Jae Myung an “arrogant ruler,” the ruling bloc reacted with extreme displeasure. Responses such as “Don’t hurl curses” quickly followed. On the YouTube program where he made the remark, Ryu predicted Lee’s approval rating would “soon start with a three.” Not long afterward, a Realmeter poll released on Monday put Lee’s job approval at 38.9 percent.
But Ryu did not need extraordinary foresight to predict the decline. Realmeter attributed it to worsening sentiment over housing, a constitutional controversy surrounding Lee’s refusal to appoint a Supreme Court justice nominee, growing distrust of the police following a missing-person case on Jeju Island and conflict within the ruling camp.
A Gallup Korea survey around the same time found the top four reasons for disapproving of Lee’s performance were: housing policy, reduced prosecutorial powers, the economy and livelihoods and ethical concerns or attempts to avoid his own trials. Some in the ruling bloc are debating whether its core progressive supporters are defecting. That is largely an argument among themselves. Polls show support falling among progressives, centrists and conservatives and across all age groups. Only the magnitude differs.
It would be stranger if Lee’s approval rating were not falling. Housing prices are soaring and homes for jeonse (lump-sum deposit) and monthly rent are scarce, yet the government proposed punitive tax increases on people who own one home but do not live in it.
Then there are the lies and deception by police exposed in the case of Jang Yun-gi, who murdered a high school girl in Gwangju, followed by the disappearance of a woman on Jeju. Yet the government revised the Criminal Procedure Act to give police sweeping authority over criminal investigations while abolishing prosecutors’ supplementary investigative powers.
The housing turmoil and distrust of police, two major factors behind Lee’s declining support, share one characteristic: They endanger people’s lives.
The administration’s demand-suppression approach to housing, reminiscent of the Moon Jae-in administration’s failed policies, has severely destabilized housing security. Homeowners and those without homes are both victims.
The consequences of abolishing prosecutors’ supplementary investigative authority can be summed up in a phrase used by frontline lawyers and crime victims: “A paradise for criminals and hell for victims.” Criminals will find it easier to evade justice while victims will have greater difficulty obtaining state protection.
After tax reform proposals provoked resistance approaching a taxpayer revolt, the government retreated on some measures, including the comprehensive real estate holding tax for nonresident single-home owners. But it has refused to budge on the revised Criminal Procedure Act.
The law, which fundamentally overturns a criminal justice system maintained for 78 years, takes effect on Oct. 2. Prosecutors who previously checked improper police investigations and supplemented inadequate ones will no longer be able to participate in investigations. Police will wield virtually complete authority over most criminal cases.
If police investigations are inadequate or unfair, victims will have to respond themselves. That ultimately means seeking help from lawyers, and retaining a criminal attorney alone can cost several million won. Without money, victims may not even be able to get offenders brought to trial — effectively, “no money, no prosecution.” How can this be acceptable?
Citizens are already sharing guides on how to deal with police. It is every person for themselves. The Democratic Party has suggested court-appointed lawyers as a safeguard. Would its lawmakers settle for that if they themselves were victims?
Less than a month remains before the revised law takes effect. There is no adequate mechanism for uncovering the truth if police bury a case. Nor is there an effective remedy if police simply disregard prosecutors’ requests for supplementary investigation.
If the revised Criminal Procedure Act eliminating prosecutors’ supplementary investigative powers takes effect as planned, the consequences will fall most heavily on ordinary people without money or influence. A society where crimes go unpunished will be little short of hell for decent and vulnerable citizens.
How does this administration intend to bear responsibility for that outcome? Even now, it must halt its reckless rush toward implementing the revised law and correct its flaws.
An approval rating in the 30 percent range is commonly regarded as a warning sign of a government in crisis. It is also a warning from the public to an administration that is failing to look after its people: Do not put our lives at risk.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
