Daegum Conveys Opinion on "Expanding Direct Investigation Scope" Ahead of Transition Committee Report

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Supreme Prosecutors' Office is reportedly planning to propose to the Presidential Transition Committee (PTC) an expansion of the scope of direct investigations conducted by prosecutors, which is currently limited to the 'six major crimes.'

According to the legal community on the 22nd, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office conveyed opinions related to President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol's campaign promises, including 'investigation reform,' to the Ministry of Justice ahead of the PTC's business briefing scheduled for the 24th.

The scope of direct investigations by prosecutors is emerging as a key issue. Article 4 of the current Prosecutors' Office Act stipulates that prosecutors may directly initiate investigations into 'important crimes designated by Presidential Decree, such as corruption, economic crimes, public officials, elections, defense industry crimes, and major disasters.'

The specific details of the 'six major crimes' are enumerated in the Presidential Decree titled 'Regulations on the Scope of Crimes for Prosecutors' Investigation Initiation.' These include bribery cases involving public officials of grade 4 or higher and amounts exceeding 30 million won, economic crimes such as fraud, embezzlement, and breach of trust exceeding 500 million won, and crimes related to political funds, including solicitation and receipt of bribes exceeding 50 million won. Crimes outside the prosecutors' investigation scope are handled by the police.

President-elect Yoon has pledged to establish a 'responsible investigation system between the prosecution and police,' citing issues such as the reduction of the prosecution's investigation scope, the police gaining primary authority to conclude investigations, and resulting problems like overburdened police investigation duties, investigation delays, and inadequate investigations.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office generally agrees with the President-elect's stance, having repeatedly raised concerns about the limitations on the investigation scope during the one year since the adjustment of investigative authority. The prosecution believes that even without exceeding the framework of the 'six major crimes' specified in the Prosecutors' Office Act, sufficient revisions are possible.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office shares the view that expanding the investigation scope is necessary, including the President-elect's campaign promises such as prosecutors conducting direct supplementary investigations after police case transfers and prosecutors directly handling complaints received by the prosecution.

Additionally, while preparing for this business briefing, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office reportedly received opinions from criminal divisions of local prosecutors' offices that they should be able to conduct direct and cognizant investigations if necessary. The current system, where direct investigations of the 'six major crimes' are handled by dedicated divisions and prosecutors' offices without such divisions conduct them in the criminal division's final section with the approval of the Prosecutor General, is proposed to be revised.

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