▲ Supreme Prosecutors' Office
A prosecutor who uncovered an illegal police arrest through direct supplementary investigation has been selected as an exemplary case for human rights protection by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.
The Supreme Prosecutors' Office announced today (July 31) that it has selected seven individuals, including Prosecutor Lee Hee-jin (49th Judicial Research and Training Institute) of the Criminal Division 4 at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office (led by Senior Prosecutor Kim Byeong-cheol), as exemplary cases of judicial control for the second quarter of this year.
While conducting supplementary investigations into a suspect, designated as A, who was sent to the prosecution in custody on special theft charges by the Seoul Yeongdeungpo Police Station last May, Prosecutor Lee discovered that suspect A had been illegally arrested by the police.
It was revealed that Inspector B and others called suspect A, who had voluntarily appeared at the police station, to a nearby subway station, urgently arrested him, and then fabricated documents stating that they had "accidentally encountered and arrested him on the street."
Prosecutor Lee confirmed these facts through interviews with the suspect, listening to witness statements, and reviewing police station visitor logs, and immediately released suspect A.
The police officers involved in the illegal arrest were indicted without detention on charges including abuse of power for arrest, and disciplinary action was requested.
In addition to Prosecutor Lee, the prosecution selected three other prosecutors who clarified the truth of cases and protected the human rights of relevant parties through direct supplementary investigations as exemplary cases.
Prosecutors Park Jong-min (11th Bar Exam) and Lee In-hae (13th Bar Exam) of the Criminal Division 1 at the Eastern Branch of the Busan District Prosecutors' Office (acting senior prosecutor Kim Geun) confirmed that a suspect detained on charges of commissioning location tracking to a private detective agency (instigation of violation of the Location Information Act) did not participate in the crime and released them.
Through searches of the residence and digital forensics of mobile phones, the prosecution determined that the complainant had falsely accused the suspect for financial motives and indicted the complainant in custody on charges of false accusation.
Prosecutor Kim A-jin (13th Bar Exam) of the Criminal Division 1 at the Anyang Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Senior Prosecutor Kim Young-joo) also uncovered that seized items had been arbitrarily removed externally during supplementary investigations and demanded that the police establish management improvement procedures.
Among the five divisions selected by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office as exemplary judicial control departments for the first half of this year, three were recognized for their contributions to uncovering the truth of cases by utilizing prosecutors' supplementary investigation powers.
While investigating the Wando freezer warehouse fire in South Jeolla Province last April, which resulted in the deaths of two firefighters, the Haenam Branch of the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office proved that the claim made by the construction company representative denying the employment of undocumented immigrants was false, and indicted the representative in custody for violating the Immigration Act.
Amid discussions on abolishing the prosecutors' supplementary investigation authority, the prosecution has actively introduced exemplary cases of supplementary investigations to argue for the necessity of maintaining such powers, citing the prevention of wrongful victims.
However, as the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act completely abolishing the prosecution's supplementary investigation authority passed the plenary session of the National Assembly today, the prosecution's investigative powers, maintained for 72 years, will fade into history.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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