Simultaneous Implementation of 'Geomsu Wanbak' and 'Geomsu Wonbok'... No Objection Allowed by Complainants, Confusion Intensifies

Child Abuse Report Case Ends with Police Investigation... Prosecutor Involved in Investigation Unable to Prosecute
Eyes on Constitutional Court's 'Jurisdictional Dispute Trial'... Public Hearing on the 27th of This Month

The second bill among the inspection reform bills, the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act, passed the National Assembly plenary session on May 3rd. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] The so-called "Complete Removal of Prosecutors' Investigation Rights Act" (검수완박, Geomsu Wanbak), which significantly restricts the prosecution's direct investigation authority, came into effect on the 10th. However, as the "Restoration of Prosecutors' Investigation Rights Enforcement Decree" (검수원복, Geomsu Wonbok), which largely restores the scope of direct investigations limited by the Geomsu Wanbak Act, also took effect on the same day, confusion is expected to continue until the Constitutional Court issues a ruling on the jurisdictional dispute.

The amendments to the Prosecutors' Office Act and the Criminal Procedure Act, known as the Geomsu Wanbak Act, reduced the scope of crimes that prosecutors can directly investigate from six major crimes?corruption, economic crimes, public official crimes, election crimes, defense industry crimes, and large-scale disaster crimes?to just two categories: corruption and economic crimes.

The Act also limited the scope of supplementary investigations by prosecutors. Prosecutors' investigative scope is confined to parts that do not compromise the identity of cases transferred by the police. Additionally, it prohibits unreasonable investigations of "separate cases" without rational grounds for the purpose of clarifying criminal charges in ongoing investigations, and forbids coercing confessions or statements in unrelated cases using evidence or materials obtained from other investigations, thereby removing grounds for expanding investigations.

However, the Geomsu Wonbok Enforcement Decree has effectively rendered the Geomsu Wanbak Act useless. It restored investigative authority by expanding the scope of corruption and economic crimes, which had been reduced under the Geomsu Wanbak Act.

Crimes classified as public official crimes, such as "abuse of authority" and "forgery of official documents," were redefined as corruption crimes, and violations of the Political Funds Act and election bribery, previously categorized as election crimes, were also included under corruption crimes and became subject to investigation. Economic crimes now include extortion of ordinary citizens by organized crime, corporate-style gangs, voice phishing, and drug distribution crimes. False accusation and perjury were added to the category of "crimes undermining judicial order," allowing prosecutors to initiate investigations.

The provision limiting the scope of supplementary investigations to "crimes directly related" to police-transferred cases was also deleted, broadening the scope of supplementary investigations. Prosecutors can continue investigating related cases that share suspects, criminal facts, or evidence.

The problem is that crimes may still be concealed due to the Geomsu Wanbak Act. According to the Act, complainants cannot file objections to police investigations to seek prosecutorial review, effectively preventing prosecutors from intervening in police investigation results. In many election crime cases reported by the Election Commission, even if the police decide not to prosecute after investigation, the Election Commission cannot file objections.

Moreover, in cases involving public interest whistleblowing, internal reports, or numerous child abuse reports, even if the crime is not clearly established and the case is closed at the police stage, complainants cannot file objections, eliminating the opportunity for prosecutorial reassessment.

The Geomsu Wanbak Act also prohibits prosecutors from filing indictments on crimes they have initiated investigations on. While prosecutors can prosecute cases they have supplemented after police investigation and transfer, prosecutors involved in direct investigations of cases they recognized cannot prosecute. In other words, any prosecutor who has participated even once in the investigation process is effectively barred from prosecution.

In response, the prosecution has proposed detailed operational measures to separate investigation and prosecution roles, but smooth investigations as before are expected to be difficult.

The prosecution divided the scope of "investigating prosecutors" prohibited from prosecution into five types: ▲suspect appearance interrogation ▲preparation of suspect interrogation records ▲emergency arrest ▲request for arrest or detention warrants ▲request for search, seizure, or verification warrants. Participation in these investigative acts is considered "direct investigation initiation," excluding the prosecutor from those allowed to prosecute.

Within the prosecution, there are complaints such as, "How can we conduct investigations when our hands and feet are tied after removing the car and the cannon?"

Ultimately, the confusion surrounding the initiation, progress, and maintenance of prosecutorial investigations is expected to subside only after the Constitutional Court decides on the constitutionality of the Geomsu Wanbak Act through the jurisdictional dispute trial requested by the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution.

The public hearing for the jurisdictional dispute trial regarding the Geomsu Wanbak Act requested by the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution will be held on the 27th. Since jurisdictional dispute trials require mandatory oral arguments, a final decision must be made after conducting oral proceedings.

The prosecution reportedly submitted a written opinion to the Constitutional Court highlighting the drawbacks of the Geomsu Wanbak Act, such as complainants being unable to file objections to investigation results.

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