National Prosecutors' Meeting: "It Is Increasingly Difficult to Protect the People from Crime"

6 to 7 of 10 Agenda Items Adopted in 10-Hour Open Debate... Decision to Keep Agenda Confidential
Key Issues Highlighted: 'Stripping Human Rights Protection Functions and Weakening Investigation of Corruption Cases'

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] The nationwide meeting of ordinary prosecutors, held for the first time in 19 years, expressed opposition to the 'Prosecutorial Investigation Authority Transfer Act' (Geomsu Wanbak Act), effectively realizing a prosecutorial turmoil.

On the 20th, 207 representatives of ordinary prosecutors reached a consensus on the practical issues of the Geomsu Wanbak Act after an all-night open debate. The prosecutors raised their voices, stating that if the Geomsu Wanbak Act is passed, it may become increasingly difficult to protect the public from crimes that disrupt social order, such as sexual violence, violent crimes, and voice phishing crimes that citizens may encounter in daily life.

The ordinary prosecutors' meeting did not limit the agenda, resulting in about 10 items being proposed, of which 6 to 7 were adopted. The agenda items were decided to remain confidential. Afterwards, all prosecutors attending the meeting collectively organized the agenda and collaboratively revised the statement of position.

Through this process, the ordinary prosecutors' meeting pointed out the following as the main problems of the Geomsu Wanbak Act: ▲issues arising from the deprivation of prosecutors' investigative authority ▲issues from the removal of prosecutors' human rights protection functions ▲problems in coercive investigations such as detention ▲weakening of investigative capabilities in corruption and bribery cases.

They first defined the Geomsu Wanbak Act, which strips prosecutors of investigative and inquiry rights that allow them to directly verify facts, as posing a risk of producing unjust judicial victims. They emphasized, "Even if citizens suffer from crimes, they cannot submit complaints to the prosecution office, and if the police reject or refuse to accept complaints, victims cannot receive relief. They cannot speak to prosecutors about what they could not say to the police, and prosecutors cannot conduct confrontational investigations between parties to show the position of the wronged person to the other side."

Ultimately, as the possibility for prosecutors to collect evidence suitable for crimes disappears, the decision to prosecute may depend solely on the police's 'investigative will' and 'good faith.' They also argued that the Geomsu Wanbak Act deletes prosecutors' authority to request records, so even if human rights violations occur during investigations, prosecutors cannot directly verify anything unless the police send the records.

Furthermore, the ordinary prosecutors expressed concern that the Geomsu Wanbak Act removes human rights protection provisions allowing prosecutors to cancel detention if charges are not recognized for suspects detained during investigations, meaning detained suspects will be held for 10 days unconditionally by the prosecution even if innocent. They also pointed out that in urgent cases, prosecutors were removed from the right to request post-search warrants after a search and seizure, allowing the police to directly request warrants from the court without prosecutors' judgment.

The ordinary prosecutors also stated that the Geomsu Wanbak Act abolishes the prosecution's direct investigative functions, effectively shelving specialized prosecutorial investigations into large-scale corruption cases involving politicians, public official corruption crimes such as bribery and abuse of authority, and financial corporate crimes like stock manipulation and accounting fraud, without any alternatives.

Regarding criticisms from the ordinary prosecutors' meeting about the unclear measures to ensure the neutrality and independence of prosecutorial investigations, they said, "This is an unprecedented proposed system, and there is no concrete plan on how it will actually operate. If the ordinary prosecutors' representative meeting is regularized and institutionalized, we will set standards and monitor it."

In the afternoon, chief prosecutors nationwide will hold a meeting. Like the Prosecutor General, high-ranking prosecutors, ordinary prosecutors, and former Prosecutor Generals, they are expected to express opposition. Accordingly, the political situation surrounding the Geomsu Wanbak Act is expected to deepen conflicts and confrontations involving collective resistance from prosecutors, the ruling party's push to pass the bill, opposition parties' efforts to block it, and the involvement of the Blue House and the transition team.

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