"Different Records of Prosecutor Misconduct Case Closure" Request by the Corruption Investigation Office Rejected by the Prosecution

High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency (Gong-su-cheo)
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (HCIC) requested records of prosecutor misconduct cases that were closed internally, but the prosecution refused.

According to the legal community on the 30th, the HCIC recently sent a request to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office for a list and decision documents of high-ranking official crime cases involving prosecutors that were dismissed between January 21 and May 31.

This was intended to determine whether the prosecution had internally closed any high-ranking official crime cases without referring them to the HCIC. Article 25, Paragraph 2 of the current HCIC Act stipulates that "if any investigative agency other than the HCIC discovers allegations of high-ranking official crimes by prosecutors, it must refer them to the HCIC."

However, according to the HCIC, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office refused to submit the materials, citing that the data essentially constitutes investigation history materials under the Act on the Limitation of Punishment, etc. Investigation history materials cannot be accessed except when necessary for criminal investigations or trials.

On the other hand, the National Police Agency reportedly received a similar request from the HCIC regarding police officers and provided the number of closed cases and reasons for closure.

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