Seoul: The Democratic Party (DP) on Wednesday unveiled the finalized campaign pledges of its presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, highlighting a push to reform the prosecution and the judiciary. The policy booklet is comprised of three major policy visions, 15 policy tasks, and 247 detailed pledges, outlining campaign promises across various sectors, including "restoring the constitutional order."
According to Yonhap News Agency, for reforming the prosecution, the DP pledged to separate its investigative and indictment powers, strengthen judicial control over abuse of indictment powers, and introduce a system to dismiss prosecutors. It also formalized a pledge to increase the number of Supreme Court justices, which it says would increase public trust in the court. The DP, however, did not offer a detailed plan on the move amid controversy over a now-withdrawn bill pushed by some DP lawmakers that had sought to appoint non-lawyers for the court's justices and increase its bench to 100.
The DP also pledged to come up with measures for democratic control over the president's right to declare martial law, appoint a civilian for defense minister, and punish those involved in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived imposition of martial law in December. On foreign policy, the DP vowed to develop the alliance with the United States, make efforts to develop relations with Japan in a "future-oriented" way, and continue to develop the "strategic cooperative partnership" with China. It also said it would seek to restore inter-Korean relations for peace while maintaining the goal of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
In order to overcome the country's low birth rate and struggling economy, the DP pledged to develop the artificial intelligence sector as a new driver for growth.