"So is my case going to the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, or will the police investigate it again?"

As the revised Criminal Procedure Act, which completely abolishes prosecutors' direct investigations, passed the Cabinet meeting yesterday (the 4th), law firms are being flooded with related inquiries.

An attorney at one law firm said, "There are many inquiries regarding the revised Criminal Procedure Act, but since it is something we have not experienced before, we are in a situation where we cannot give a definitive answer," adding, "Confusion is likely to continue for at least one to two years."

With the implementation of the revised Criminal Procedure Act confirmed for October 2, anxiety among clients who have entrusted their cases to law firms is growing accordingly.

Parties involved in cases, including crime victims, are curious about how the investigative authorities will change after the law takes effect and whether the investigation can be wrapped up before the law is implemented.

The revised Criminal Procedure Act contains provisions to abolish the Prosecutors' Office as of October 2 and completely separate investigation and indictment.

Prosecutors will no longer be able to conduct direct or supplementary investigations, and all cases will be handled by judicial police officers (the police and the Serious Crime Investigation Agency) and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials.

Most complaints and accusations will be received by the police, and it will no longer be possible to submit complaint or accusation documents directly to the Prosecution Service, the successor to the Prosecutors' Office.

Cases currently under investigation by prosecutors will also, in principle, be transferred to competent investigative agencies such as the police or the Serious Crime Investigation Agency.

However, among cases under prosecutor investigation at the time of implementation, if the statute of limitations is imminent or inevitable due to the nature of the case, the Prosecution Service may complete the investigation within 90 days.

Clients are most curious about whether a disposition can be made before the law takes effect, where the case will go after the law takes effect, and who will be the ultimate disposition authority.

This is because the outcome of the disposition may change depending on it.

Kwon Na-won, an attorney at Law Firm Samhyeon and a former senior prosecutor, said, "Centered on cases that prosecutors have investigated for a long time or are in the final stages of investigation, clients' submission of opinion papers and requests for meetings with prosecutors have visibly doubled since June," adding, "The intent is to wrap up the case before the organizational restructuring."

She further pointed out, "Clients have deep concerns that if cases are transferred to other agencies, they might have to repeat their arguments and proofs from scratch, or that it might become more difficult to persuade the investigative authorities."

Kim Byung-guk, an attorney at Law Firm Beonhwa, said, "About 70% of all clients are worried about the changes following the implementation of the revised Criminal Procedure Act," adding, "Since these are cases upon which their lives depend, clients inevitably feel a high level of anxiety."

Clients who expected prosecutors to handle their cases directly due to a distrust of police investigations are feeling anxious just the same.

Han Sang-jun, an attorney at Law Firm Daegon, said, "I received a call from a client waiting for the results of a prosecution investigation after filing an objection to the police's decision not to send a planned real estate scam case, asking 'Won't there be a problem with the case?'" and added, "They are worried that if the revised Criminal Procedure Act is implemented in October and the case goes back to the police, the exact same conclusion might come out."

Oh Sun-hee, an attorney at Law Firm Hyemyung, also conveyed, "Clients who requested direct investigations by prosecutors, saying 'I can't trust the police,' are deeply worried about the situation after October."

Lawyer A, who mainly handles criminal cases, expressed regret, saying, "Even recently, a client came to me saying, 'The Prosecutors' Office is disappearing starting in October, so I hope a prosecutor looks into the case before then,' but I honestly explained that it is realistically difficult," and added, "For clients appealing their grievances during police investigations, the opportunity to rectify them has vanished."

There are also major worries that investigations might be delayed indefinitely amid a game of ping-pong between the Prosecution Service and the police or the Serious Crime Investigation Agency surrounding requests for supplementary investigations or the fulfillment thereof.

Kwak Jun-ho, an attorney at Law Firm Cheong, said, "Clients are asking if investigations will be delayed or if processing will be slowed down during the process of cases going back and forth between prosecutors and police," adding, "There is already criticism that the police are slow in handling cases, and the concern is that if even the monitoring and supervisory functions of prosecutors disappear, delays could worsen."