KBA: "Jang Yoon-ki Case Would Have Been Buried Without Supplementary Investigation; Need for Prosecution's Investigative Authority"

The Korean Bar Association (KBA) argued that the prosecution's authority for supplementary investigations should be permitted within a reasonable scope, citing the "Jang Yoon-ki case" as an example where "fatal omissions in judgment and evidence tampering could have been buried without the prosecution's supplementary investigation."

In a statement released today (July 10), the KBA expressed partial opposition to the recent amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act proposed by the Democratic Party of Korea, which seeks to completely abolish the prosecution's authority to conduct supplementary investigations into cases referred by the police.

The KBA suggested, "The prosecution's supplementary investigation should be exceptionally permitted for public livelihood cases or crimes linked to facts uncovered in cases referred by the police to prevent investigative gaps."

The KBA explained, "In a survey conducted among members nationwide, the response that 'both the authority to request supplementary investigations and the authority to conduct them should be granted' accounted for the highest proportion."

The KBA proposed the introduction of a system requiring the referral of all cases to the prosecution—limited to serious crimes such as murder—investigated by the police in the event that supplementary investigation authority is not recognized, in order to prevent inadequate investigations.

This is intended to ensure that cases are double-checked and to prevent the truth of a case from being buried due to poor investigations.

The association also presented plans 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 KBA urged, "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 authority for specific institutions," adding, "The National Assembly and the government must push for institutional reform in a direction that can protect the lives and safety of the public."
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.