National Prosecutors' Meeting: "High Risk of Unconstitutionality in the Complete Prosecution Reform Law... It Will Degenerate into a 'Crime Neglect Law'"

On the 20th, prosecutors at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, are announcing the results of the nationwide prosecutors' meeting held to respond to the legislation on 'Geomsu Wanbak' (Complete Removal of Prosecutorial Investigation Rights). Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] Regarding the 'Complete Removal of Prosecutorial Investigation Rights (Geomsu Wanbak)' legislation promoted by the Democratic Party, prosecutors who attended the nationwide meeting of ordinary prosecutors held from 7 p.m. on the 19th until the early morning of the 20th expressed their opinion that "the Geomsu Wanbak law has a high risk of being unconstitutional" and warned that it would "degenerate into a law that neglects crime." The meeting, which began at 7 p.m. the previous day with 207 ordinary prosecutors from nationwide prosecution offices in attendance, reportedly lasted about 10 hours until 5 a.m. the next day.

At the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office press room in Seocho-dong, Seoul, where the meeting results were announced in the morning, the prosecutors seemed aware of the public criticism regarding the collective action of prosecutors, stating, "We, the ordinary prosecutors, are fully aware of the public's criticism of the prosecution," and began their statement with "We will strive to dispel such concerns starting from ourselves and restore the public's trust."

They emphasized, "The reason we, the ordinary prosecutors, discussed the 'Geomsu Wanbak' bill is due to our urgent concern that it may become increasingly difficult to protect the public from most everyday crimes such as sexual violence, violent crimes, voice phishing crimes, major economic crimes, and other offenses that disrupt social order."

First, the prosecutors pointed out that the partial amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act and the Prosecutors' Office Act, promoted by the Democratic Party, remove most of the prosecutors' investigative rights over crimes including the six major crimes, strip prosecutors of the constitutional right to request warrants, and instead grant the police direct warrant request authority, which they argued is unconstitutional.

They stated, "Although the Constitution recognizes the prosecutor's investigative rights and grants prosecutors the direct authority to request warrants for compulsory investigations, the 'Geomsu Wanbak' bill arbitrarily interprets the Constitution to deprive prosecutors of both investigative rights and direct warrant request authority, while even recognizing the police's direct warrant request authority, which has a high likelihood of violating the Constitution."

The prosecutors stressed that if the Geomsu Wanbak bill passes, prosecutors' authority related to the execution of sentences will disappear, eliminating opportunities to prevent human rights violations during detention, and that crimes will be neglected, ultimately causing harm to the public.

They argued, "The 'Geomsu Wanbak' bill makes it impossible for prosecutors to even verify basic facts, producing unjust victims, and even if victims wish to appeal and have prosecutors review their cases, the bill removes procedures that allow prosecutors to provide relief." They added, "It also eliminates opportunities to correct errors that may occur during detention and to rectify mistakes in search and seizure processes, which involve significant human rights violations."

They continued, "The 'Geomsu Wanbak' bill blinds prosecutors and ties their hands and feet, creating a 'country where crimes are rampant but criminals do not exist,' blocking powerless citizens from seeking their rights, ultimately granting impunity to criminals and increasing suffering for victims, thus degenerating into a 'crime neglect law.'"

They also refuted the Democratic Party's claim that 'separation of investigation and prosecution' is a global trend.

The prosecutors stated, "There is a claim that the 'Geomsu Wanbak' bill aligns with global standards and that advanced countries separate prosecution and investigation, but this is not true. Most advanced democratic countries have prosecution systems as control mechanisms over the police and recognize prosecutors' investigative functions to respond to sophisticated and intelligent crimes."

They added, "Even legal circles, academia, and civic groups that have been critical of the prosecution oppose the bill unanimously, citing judicial system chaos and weakened response to corruption crimes. Nevertheless, it is regrettable and worrisome that these voices are being ignored and the bill is being pushed through without any alternatives."

The prosecutors expressed, "We, the ordinary prosecutors, hope that reforms that gain public consensus will be achieved through in-depth discussions and gathering opinions from various sectors," and "Furthermore, we will continue our own efforts to ensure fairness and neutrality in investigations."

Finally, the prosecutors concluded the announcement by saying, "Ordinary prosecutors will take the lead in introducing various systems that guarantee the prosecution's fairness and neutrality, such as external control mechanisms allowing public participation in the investigation process of serious crimes and the 'Ordinary Prosecutors' Representative Meeting,' an internal check system where representatives regularly discuss," and "We will do our best in our fundamental duties as prosecutors and become a prosecution that serves the people."

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