Rival political parties clashed at a parliament-organized public hearing about a set of four bills aimed at reforming the prosecution, wrangling over possibly abolishing the state agency and dispersing its investigation and indictment authority to three separate bodies.

The ruling Democratic Party(DP) stressed that separating the investigation and indictment powers as part of reforms are what the public wants, while the main opposition People Power Party(PPP) called for a thorough discussion to prevent political bias in investigations.

DP Rep. Kim Yong-min on the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee said the separation of the rights are part of the administration handing over its vested interests.

Recognizing the prosecution's past faults, PPP Rep. Cho Bae-sook, a former prosecutor, however, said the core of the problem lies in the fact that every administration has utilized the state agency as a political tool.

Following the hearing, the standing committee referred the bills to a subcommittee for a review.