No Long-Term Acting Prosecutors at Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office... Separation of Investigation and Prosecution Becomes Reality

Only Three Prosecutors' Offices Allow Long-Term Acting Prosecutors
Customs Narcotics, Itaewon, and Muan Airport Disaster Cases
Minister Jeong Seongho Orders Return to Original Posts
Practice of Direct Involvement by Investigative Prosecutors Effectively Disappears

Status of Acting Prosecutors by District Prosecutor's Office Nationwide (Data provided by Representative Joo Jinwoo of the People Power Party, submitted by the Ministry of Justice) Apart from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Southern, Eastern, Western, and Gwangju District Prosecutors' Offices, the number of long-term acting prosecutors in other offices was all reported as zero.

Out of the 18 district prosecutors' offices nationwide, only seven prosecutors are currently serving as long-term acting prosecutors in three offices-Seoul Eastern, Seoul Western, and Gwangju District Prosecutors' Offices-and there are none in the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. Typically, long-term acting prosecutors are appointed for one-month terms, which are then repeatedly extended.

With Minister of Justice Jeong Seongho ordering the "return of long-term acting prosecutors to their original posts," the practice of direct involvement by investigative prosecutors in trials (known as "direct prosecution") has effectively disappeared.

According to a joint investigation by the office of Representative Joo Jinwoo of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, and Asia Economy on October 13, as of early last month, there were zero long-term acting prosecutors at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. The number of long-term acting prosecutors at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office was 14 in early July and 12 in early August, but following Minister Jeong's directive, all returned to the main office. With the abolition of the prosecutors' office, the policy of separating investigation and indictment is becoming a reality.

The number of long-term acting prosecutors at district offices nationwide was 17 in early July, increased to 20 in early August, and then dropped to seven by early last month. Currently, only three offices permit long-term acting prosecutors. Four prosecutors from the customs narcotics investigation team are serving as acting prosecutors at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, two prosecutors from the Itaewon disaster joint investigation team are at the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office, and one prosecutor from the Muan Airport passenger plane disaster investigation team is at the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office.

It had long been customary for investigative prosecutors to continue participating in trials as acting prosecutors even after being reassigned to another office. This was because having a different prosecutor handle a complex case after each personnel change made it difficult to maintain the prosecution. However, concerns have been raised about potential confirmation bias and violations of the duty of objectivity that could arise during the investigation process.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Justice has decided to allow acting prosecutors only temporarily and in exceptional cases, such as major crimes affecting people's livelihoods or areas requiring specialized expertise. However, for major cases with tens of thousands of pages of investigative records, there are concerns that maintaining the prosecution could become difficult, potentially benefiting only the defense attorneys. A legal expert commented, "There is a risk that the prosecution could be weakened, such as failing to detect changes or contradictions in witness statements, which could undermine the essential purpose of trials-discovering the substantive truth."

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