Improvement of 'Prohibition on Pre-Trial Disclosure of Indictments' Regulation... Changed to After 7 Days Following Indictment

Ban on Public Disclosure of Indictments Introduced During Former Minister Choo Mi-ae's Tenure...Criticism for Infringing on Public's Right to Know
Ministry of Justice: "Will Submit to National Assembly Promptly After 7 Days from Indictment"

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] The pre-trial defendant 'prohibition on disclosure of indictment' regulation, introduced during former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae's tenure, has been improved. The timing for submitting indictments to the National Assembly has been changed to 7 days after the filing of the indictment.

Previously, the Ministry of Justice refused the request to deliver the indictment of the 'Cheongwadae Ulsan mayor election interference suspicion case' to the National Assembly in February 2020, and subsequently prohibited the disclosure of indictments before trials for all cases.

On the 2nd, the Ministry of Justice announced that to harmoniously guarantee the defendant's right to a fair trial and the public's right to know, the timing for submitting indictments in response to the National Assembly's data requests has been improved to '7 days after the filing of the indictment.'

Currently, according to internal guidelines, the Ministry of Justice has been submitting indictments to the National Assembly after the 'first trial date' is held in response to the National Assembly's data requests regarding cases where indictments have been filed. However, if the first trial date is delayed after the indictment filing, the submission of indictments to the National Assembly is delayed for a long time, infringing on the public's right to know and causing criticism due to fairness issues as the submission timing varies by case.

In major cases, multiple preparatory trial dates are held, or the first trial is often delayed for a long time after the indictment filing due to reasons such as the defendant's request for postponement.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Justice has adjusted the timing for submitting indictments to the National Assembly to 7 days after the filing of the indictment. Indictments are delivered to the defendant without delay after filing, and typically, 3 to 4 days after dispatch from the court, they are delivered to the defendant or their attorney, allowing the defendant to understand the contents of the indictment within 3 to 4 days thereafter.

The Ministry of Justice explained that in the future, when the National Assembly requests data on indictments, it will promptly submit them after 7 days have passed since the indictment filing, thereby guaranteeing the public's right to know and ensuring uniformity in the timing of indictment submissions.

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