SEOUL: The South Korean Cabinet on Tuesday approved a government reorganisation bill centred on abolishing the prosecution office and stripping the finance ministry of its budget planning role.
The bill, the first of its kind under the Lee Jae Myung administration, was passed by the National Assembly last week during a plenary session boycotted by the main opposition People Power Party, Yonhap news agency reported.
It was approved during a Cabinet meeting presided over by President Lee Jae Myung, along with other bills calling for the renaming of standing parliamentary committees and the abolition of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC).
Under the revision to the Government Organisation Act, the prosecution office will be shut down in October next year, 78 years after its establishment, and will be replaced by two new agencies that will take on its investigative and indictment powers.
The so-called serious crimes investigation agency will be installed under the interior ministry, while the indictment office will be established under the justice ministry.
The move comes after longstanding criticism that the prosecution has abused its exclusive powers by carrying out politically motivated investigations.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance, meanwhile, will be separated into the Ministry of Finance and Economy, and the office for planning and budget, which will be installed under the prime minister's office. The change will take effect in January next year.
Other government ministries will be subject to name changes and restructuring starting Wednesday, when the revised bill will be promulgated.
The environment ministry will become the ministry of climate, energy and environment, while most of the energy departments under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) will be transferred to the new environment ministry. MOTIE will also be renamed the Ministry of Industry and Trade.