The ruling Democratic Party has pledged to prepare a bill on prosecutorial reform by late August and to abolish the Prosecutors' Office by the Chuseok Thanksgiving holiday in early October.

At a ceremony on Wednesday, marking the launch of a special party committee dedicated to the reform plans, Rep. Min Hyung-bae, the panel’s chief, promised to separate the authority to investigate cases from the authority to indict suspects, then transfer those responsibilities to two new agencies.

Min also vowed to realize the sovereignty of the people and protect their economic interests by overhauling the criminal justice system to make it more effective while guaranteeing basic rights.

Party leader Jung Chung-rae, who attended the event, reiterated the ruling party’s resolve to complete the reforms by Chuseok.

The party leader also referred to Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho’s comment earlier in the day, in which he promised to strip the Prosecutor's Office of its power to investigate, and to irreversibly separate its investigation and indictment functions.