Prosecution's Unsolved Cases Exceed 180,000... Surge of 46,000 in Three Months Before Abolition

It has been revealed that the number of unsolved cases at the prosecution surged by 46,000 over a three-month period, exceeding 180,000 right before the prosecution officially closed its doors on the 1st.

According to the Prosecution Service, the successor to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, on October 7, the total number of unsolved cases nationwide stood at 186,307 as of the end of September.

This is an increase of over 20,000 in just one month from 164,822 at the end of August, which was previously the highest on record.

The number of unresolved prosecution cases rose from 140,513 at the end of June this year to 165,020 at the end of July, and continued its sharp upward trend thereafter.

An official from the Prosecution Service explained, "With a shortage of prosecutors in the existing prosecution service, consecutive dispatches to special counsel teams and departures ahead of the launch of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency further reduced personnel, which appears to have led to the increase in unsolved cases."

Unsolved cases consist of more than 99% of matters transferred to prosecutors from primary investigative agencies such as the police or special judicial police, and the Prosecution Service will take over these cases to either indict them or request supplementary investigations from investigative agencies.

Meanwhile, cases for which prosecutors initiated investigations on their own will, in principle, be transferred to other investigative agencies such as the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the police.

The Prosecution Service has determined the cases to be transferred and began transferring them sequentially starting yesterday, October 6.

Cases that are difficult to transfer, such as those with statutes of limitations close to expiring, can exceptionally continue to be investigated by the Prosecution Service for 90 days from the opening date.

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