Korean Bar Association: 'Jang Yoon-gi Case Shows Necessity of Prosecutors' Supplementary Investigation Power'

▲ Democratic Party proposes amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act to completely abolish prosecutors' supplementary investigation power

The Korean Bar Association (KBA) has issued a statement regarding the recent amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act proposed by the Democratic Party of Korea, arguing that prosecutors' direct supplementary investigation power should be permitted within a reasonable scope.

In a statement released today (July 10), the KBA said, "If any investigative agency is free from external oversight, the truth of a case can be buried, leading to the infringement of citizens' fundamental rights," adding, "The scope of prosecutors' direct supplementary investigation must be designed reasonably."

The association further suggested, "To prevent gaps in investigations, prosecutors' supplementary investigation should be exceptionally permitted for public livelihood cases or crimes linked to facts uncovered in cases referred by the police."

The KBA highlighted the necessity of the prosecutors' supplementary investigation power by citing the case of Jang Yoon-gi, the perpetrator in the 'Gwangju high school girl murder case.'

"This is a prime example demonstrating the necessity of supplementary investigation power as a mechanism to keep investigative agencies in check," the KBA pointed out, noting that "without the prosecutors' supplementary investigation, critical errors in judgment and evidence tampering would have been buried."

The association also explained, "In a survey conducted among members nationwide, the response that 'both the power to request supplementary investigation and the power to conduct supplementary investigation should be granted' accounted for the highest proportion."

The KBA proposed the introduction of a system requiring all cases involving serious crimes, such as murder, to be referred to the prosecution by the police to prevent shoddy investigations in the event that supplementary investigation power is not recognized.

This proposal is intended to ensure that cases are double-checked and to prevent the truth from being buried due to inadequate investigations.

The KBA also presented other measures to improve the criminal justice system, including strengthening the supervision of investigations by special judicial police officers, enhancing the right to assistance of counsel, and implementing an investigative human rights protection officer system.

"The criminal justice system should be designed based on the protection of citizens' fundamental rights and the discovery of substantive truth, not on the expansion or reduction of power for a specific agency," the KBA urged. "The National Assembly and the government must push for institutional reform in a direction that can protect the lives and safety of the public."

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