Daegum: "Establishing the Jungsuchung is a Prosecution Office Abolition Act... It Will Cause Serious Threats"

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Supreme Prosecutors' Office has expressed the opinion that the bill to establish the Serious Crime Investigation Agency (SCIA), promoted by the ruling party, is "a law that effectively abolishes the Prosecutors' Office" and that it "would pose a serious threat to the nation's capacity to respond to serious crimes."

According to Rep. Jeon Ju-hye of the People Power Party on the 15th, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office recently conveyed through the Ministry of Justice to the National Assembly's Judiciary Committee that "the proposed bill is effectively a law abolishing the Prosecutors' Office."

In particular, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office expressed concern that "following the adjustment of investigative authority, the function of directing investigations has been lost, and even the necessary and minimal prosecutorial investigative functions limited to six major crimes are being stripped away." It also stated, "The urgent task is to establish a new criminal justice system and alleviate public inconvenience," adding, "At this point, there is absolutely no justification or necessity to deprive the prosecution of its investigative functions."

Legal issues were also pointed out. The position was that "there are concerns about unconstitutionality as it denies the constitutional function of prosecutors and conflicts with the essence of the prosecutorial system," criticizing that "investigation and prosecution cannot be conceptually separated. If investigation and prosecution are separated, problems in the investigation process may be discovered late during the prosecution maintenance process, leading to an increase in acquittals, which runs counter to the efficiency of criminal law enforcement and the protection of human rights."

On the other hand, the Ministry of Justice expressed agreement with "the direction contained in the bill," stating that it "respects the recent various discussions in the National Assembly regarding the deletion of prosecutorial investigative authority, abolition of the Prosecutors' Office, and establishment of the Public Prosecution Office and the Serious Crime Investigation Agency." It also showed a positive response by saying, "Control over the abuse of prosecutorial investigative authority, such as the separation of investigation and prosecution, should continue to be reviewed."

However, it is known that the Ministry added the view that "the establishment of a new criminal justice system is also important," emphasizing the need to gather diverse opinions including those of prosecutorial members without setting a deadline, ensuring that the nation's crime response capabilities do not regress during the discussion process, and that reforms should be pursued steadily while avoiding trial and error.

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