Korea has taken a major step in prosecution reform after the National Assembly last week passed two bills that effectively separate the prosecution’s long-held powers to both press charges and conduct investigations. The two bills were passed on Friday and Saturday, respectively, and aim to create new agencies, with one solely handling indictments and the other dedicated to investigations, subsequently leading to the dismantling of the current prosecutorial office in October. While contentious issues remain over the grey area of supplementary investigative authority, this legislation brings Korea to the final stage of reform after long-standing debates over the prosecution’s abuse of power. The debate intensified over the course of the prosecution’s more than seven-decade history, with critics arguing that its control over both investigations and charging decisions violated political neutrality, often acting as a “handmaiden of power.” “A goal 70 years in the making is finally coming true. My deepest thanks to the people, and to President Lee Jae Myung,” Rep. Jung Chung-rae