Legislative Notice on Police-Prosecutor Investigation Authority Adjustment... Police Publicly Oppose Saying It Fails to Reflect the Purpose of Prosecutor Reform

Police Official: "We Gave the Prosecution a Master Key"

On the 18th, participants shouted slogans at the "Press Conference for the Declaration of the Current Situation by Youth and Student Organizations and Political Party Representatives Urging Prosecutorial Reform" held in front of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul. They urged the prompt passage of the bill to adjust investigative authority between the prosecution and police and the bill to establish the Corruption Investigation Office, both designated as fast-track bills. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] On the 7th, the Ministry of Justice prepared and announced a legislative notice for the presidential decrees and other enactment plans of the amended Criminal Procedure Act and Prosecutors' Office Act, which stipulate the detailed provisions of the adjustment of investigative authority between the prosecution and the police. In response, the police strongly opposed the move. The National Police Agency issued a statement on the same day, expressing "great concern that the legislative notice fails to properly reflect the purpose of 'prosecutorial reform,' which is the aim of the amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act and the Prosecutors' Office Act."

◆ Prosecutor and Police Investigation Guidelines Solely Under the Ministry of Justice? = The presidential decree on the adjustment of investigative authority consists of two subordinate enforcement ordinances: the 'Regulations on Mutual Cooperation and General Investigation Guidelines between Prosecutors and Judicial Police Officers (draft)' under the Criminal Procedure Act, which stipulates general investigation guidelines for prosecutors and police officers, and the 'Regulations on the Scope of Crimes for Prosecutors' Investigation Initiation (draft)' under the Prosecutors' Office Act.

The part that the police strongly oppose is that the investigation guidelines are solely under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice. Since the presidential decree explicitly mentions 'prosecutors' and 'judicial police officers' in its title, it is only natural that the Ministry of Justice and the National Police Agency jointly oversee it. A National Police Agency official said, "The investigation guidelines do not concretely specify many contentious issues, making disagreements inevitable during practical application," and added, "The Ministry of Justice's unilateral authoritative interpretation could intensify conflicts between the prosecution and police and allow arbitrary amendments, which may undermine the purpose of the legal amendments."

Although the regulations stipulate that the Minister of Justice must 'consult' with the Minister of the Interior and Safety regarding the interpretation and amendment of the presidential decree, the police believe this is merely procedural consultation and does not prevent independent interpretation and amendment.

◆ "If a Warrant is Obtained, All Investigations Are Possible... Prosecutors Given a 'Master Key'" = The police also strongly object to the exception clause regarding the transfer of cases to prosecutors. The regulation requires that cases outside the prosecution's investigation scope be transferred to the police, but makes an exception if a search, seizure, or verification warrant has been issued. In other words, even if a case is not among the six major crimes that prosecutors can investigate, if a prosecutor obtains a search warrant early on, the case can continue to be investigated by the prosecution without transfer.

The police view this clause as effectively expanding the prosecution's investigation initiation scope without limit. A National Police Agency official pointed out, "A search and seizure warrant is a means to secure evidence and requires only 'simple suspicion' as a condition," and added, "Even 'illegal investigations' that do not fall within the prosecutor's investigation scope can be recognized as lawful investigations if a warrant is issued, allowing investigations to continue indefinitely." This contradicts the purpose of the legal amendments, which aimed to reduce prosecutorial power by defining the scope of direct investigations.

◆ Cybercrime as a Major Disaster? = The police also criticized the presidential decree under the Prosecutors' Office Act that includes drug crimes as economic crimes and cybercrimes as major disasters, thereby designating them as six major crimes that prosecutors can investigate. The police consider drug crimes as 'public safety health crimes' based on the Narcotics Control Act and the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. Although the regulation defines drug export and import-related crimes, combined with provisions allowing prosecutors to investigate related crimes, the police argue that prosecutors can effectively investigate all drug-related crimes.

Furthermore, the police argue that cybercrime is unrelated to major disasters, which are premised on human casualties, and thus the classification is inappropriate. In terms of cybercrime response capabilities, the police, with 2,033 investigators compared to 100 in the prosecution, and established international cooperation systems, are the appropriate agency to handle such cases.

In addition, the police demand deletion or revision of other provisions in the investigation guidelines, including ▲ mandatory appearance and investigation of suspects ▲ discretionary regulations on prosecutors' case transfer in cases of concurrent investigations ▲ exceptions to prosecutors' re-investigation requests after 90 days.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.