Junior Prosecutors at Hongseong Branch Urge Leadership to Present Prosecution Office Transition Plan and Vision

Ahead of the prosecution's transition into the Prosecution Office scheduled for this coming October, junior prosecutors at the Hongseong Branch of the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office have urged the prosecution and Ministry of Justice leadership to explain their plans and vision for the launch.

The junior prosecutors at the Hongseong Branch posted an article titled "Urging Preparation and Explanation for the Opening of the Prosecution Office" on the internal prosecution network (e-PROS) this morning (August 10).

They wrote, "With less than two months remaining before the launch of the Prosecution Office and the implementation of the revised Criminal Procedure Act, we question whether discussions and efforts to prepare for the future—assuming the bill's passage—have been adequately conducted, beyond the efforts previously made to block the bill's passage."

They went on to ask, "The preparation team for the opening of the Serious Crime Investigation Office is trying to attract talent with the goal of 'bringing in top-tier personnel,' persuading prosecutors to demonstrate their skills and capabilities in the new agency. What is the prosecution, which is scheduled to transition into the Prosecution Office, doing?"

They argued for maintaining the current staffing levels for prosecutors and staff of the Prosecution Office and establishing a supplementary investigation supervisory department.

The supervisory department would regularly manage, prod, and oversee cases in which the police are conducting supplementary investigations.

For cases notified of compliance with supplementary investigations, they also suggested that, prior to review by the lead prosecutor, the supervisory department should first handle tasks such as reviewing whether supplementary investigations were carried out, determining the necessity to request the exclusion from duty or disciplinary action against judicial police officers, and evaluating the need to request supplementary investigations from higher investigative authorities.

They argued, "This will allow prosecutors to focus more on deciding whether to institute public prosecutions and requesting supplementary investigations for new cases, while making requests for the exclusion from duty or disciplinary action against judicial police officers more effective."

Concluding their remarks, they urged the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and Ministry of Justice leadership to "present and explain plans and a vision regarding what the future Prosecution Office will look like."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.