[Anchor]

The evidence destruction by the father of incumbent police officer Jang Yoon-ki and signs of collusion with the investigation team might have remained buried forever had it not been for the supplementary investigation by the prosecution. This case has fueled growing concerns over the potential side effects of the plan to abolish the prosecution's supplementary investigation powers, which is being pushed by the government and the ruling party.

Reporter Jeon Yeonnam has the story.

[Reporter]

The Busan roundhouse kick case that occurred in 2022.

It was through the prosecution's supplementary investigation that the crime was revealed to be not just attempted murder, but also motivated by sexual assault.

The "Haedeun-i case," in which a biological mother beat her 4-month-old infant to death, and the assault case involving the late director Kim Chang-min also had the full truth of the crimes uncovered through the prosecution's supplementary investigations.

In the Jang Yoon-ki case as well, after being referred to the prosecution on simple murder charges, the suspect was indicted for rape and murder. Furthermore, the actions of Jang Yoon-ki's father, an incumbent police officer, in disposing of items such as a real doll, along with allegations of shoddy police investigation, were revealed one after another.

These instances are seen as evidence of the necessity for the prosecution's supplementary investigations to serve as a check and verification mechanism for police investigations.

Against this backdrop, voices from within the prosecution and the legal community are calling for the retention of supplementary investigation powers.

Critics point out that if investigations are left solely to the police, there is a risk that cases could be buried or lead to systemic corruption, and that it may become difficult to uncover the substantive truth.

A survey showed that 7 out of 10 members of the progressive group Lawyers for a Democratic Society responded that "the prosecution's supplementary investigation powers should be fully or partially maintained."

[Interview: Lee In-ho / Professor at Chung-Ang University Law School: Investigative power is a very powerful authority. If the prosecution's supplementary investigation power itself does not exist, checks and balances cannot be achieved. The resulting damage will ultimately fall on the public.]

However, the government and the ruling party are maintaining their stance on abolishing supplementary investigation powers to improve the problems of prosecutorial investigations.

They argue that checks on police investigations are possible through the power to request supplementary investigations. However, critics point out that there is a need for discussion on how to sanction the police if they fail to properly comply with such requests, and who will control and supervise the appropriateness of police investigations and how.

(Video Editing: So Ji-hye)