Supreme Prosecutors' Office Opposes Bill to Abolish Prosecutors' Supplementary Investigation Authority

▲ The Supreme Prosecutors' Office

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office (SPO) has effectively expressed its opposition to a proposed amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act that would abolish the prosecution's authority to conduct supplementary investigations, stating that the matter requires sufficient review and deliberation.

In a press release today (July 8), the SPO announced that it had submitted its opinion to the Ministry of Justice the previous day (July 7) in response to a request from the National Assembly.

Regarding the supplementary investigation authority, the SPO stated that it is a vital duty of prosecutors and a necessary tool for judicial control.

The SPO emphasized, "Supplementary investigations by prosecutors are conducted supplementarily to determine whether to indict cases referred by judicial police officers after they initiate investigations. This does not contradict the principle of 'separating investigation and prosecution' and is essential for maintaining robust public prosecutions."

The office further explained, "Supplementary investigation is the fastest and most efficient means of judicial control to correct delays, errors, or omissions in investigations by police. If this is not recognized and we rely solely on requests for supplementary investigation, it will lead to a cycle of 'ping-ponging' cases between the prosecution and police, ultimately creating innocent victims."

The SPO also pointed out, "If exceptions remain where police do not have to comply with prosecutors' requests for supplementary investigation, it will become impossible to process cases when there is a conflict of opinion between the prosecution and police. We must establish measures to ensure the effectiveness of supplementary investigation requests for practical judicial control."

The office also argued for the reintroduction of the "full case referral system," which requires all cases investigated by the police to be sent to the prosecution.

The SPO criticized the current system, stating, "The current case referral system grants police broad 'authority to decide not to refer,' effectively allowing the primary investigative agency to determine the necessity of indictment. This does not align with the fundamental purpose of the institutional reform, which was to separate investigation and prosecution to ensure mutual checks and balances."

It added, "Indictment and non-indictment are not separate decisions but two sides of the same coin. A quasi-judicial body outside the investigative agency—the prosecutor—must control and evaluate the legality of all investigation results to decide whether to prosecute."

Furthermore, regarding the proposal to entrust decisions on whether to file charges to a "Prosecution Deliberation Committee" composed of ordinary citizens, the SPO noted, "There is a structural problem of a mismatch between authority and responsibility, given that members of the deliberation committee bear no legal responsibility for the maintenance of public prosecution or the results of trials."

(Photo: Yonhap News)

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