[Policy Pulse]On The Establishment Of The Serious Crimes Investigation Office And The Public Prosecution Office

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On April 23, 2013, the Central Investigation Department of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, which had been at the center of South Korea's anti-corruption investigations for 32 years, took down its nameplate and disappeared into history. At that time, as the head of the "Task Force for the Reform of the Special Investigation System of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office," which was in charge of abolishing the Central Investigation Department and designing a new special investigation body within the prosecution, I issued a reflection filled with self-reproach, saying that I had "failed to recognize that public distrust was growing significantly behind the lofty pride of the CID prosecutors."

Thirteen years have passed since then, and the prosecution, having failed to learn any lessons from the abolition of the Central Investigation Department, has now come to face a situation in which its very existence is being denied and even its name is disappearing. The failure to recognize the raison d'etre of the prosecution and to devote ourselves wholeheartedly to earning the trust of the people has resulted in consequences that are unbearably grave. It is truly regrettable.

A Government Organization Act abolishing the Prosecutors' Office has been enacted, and heated discussions are underway on the Serious Crimes Investigation Office Act and the Public Prosecution Office Act, which separate investigative powers from prosecutorial powers. Claims that "because the prosecution has conducted investigations on the premise of indictment, investigation and indictment must be separated," as well as controversies over the supplementary investigative authority of the Public Prosecution Office, are erupting. I am taken aback, wondering whether the public anger toward the prosecution was really this intense. Perhaps the prosecution has been perceived not as a defender of the public interest, but as a partisan political actor.

Nevertheless, when we are newly designing investigative powers and prosecutorial powers, which can restrict personal liberty and property rights, we must not forget that we cannot afford to overlook the impact on the public and the institutional stability of the system, beyond political anger and partisan interests.

First of all, it would be problematic if the state's capacity to investigate and address corruption were to be reduced. Some people tend to think that once an investigative agency is created and staffed, investigative capabilities will naturally emerge. However, just as in the past the prosecution recognized only those with five to six years of experience as prosecutors capable of making correct independent decisions, there must necessarily be a long process in which prosecutors learn and train in investigation, human affairs, and social phenomena through thorough education from senior prosecutors and seasoned investigators over many years.

In particular, the fields that fall under the jurisdiction of the Serious Crimes Investigation Office, such as corruption crimes, economic crimes, crimes committed by public officials, and election crimes, are not areas in which one can build expertise overnight and immediately conduct investigations. The fact that people dislike the prosecution does not mean there is any reason to antagonize and fail to make use of the many prosecutors who, regardless of political cases, have built professional investigative capabilities in each of these fields and have handled livelihood-related cases.

Investigative agencies must also be designed to efficiently protect the rights and interests of the people. The criminal law revisions under the Moon Jae-in administration, which were aimed at completely stripping the prosecution of investigative powers, produced many side effects. The lines of responsibility between the prosecution and the police became unclear, case processing was endlessly delayed, and acquittals became frequent in indicted cases. The public fell into despair and anxiety over the judicial process.

The purpose of investigative powers and prosecutorial powers is to protect the people from crime and to restore victims. The supplementary investigative authority of the Public Prosecution Office should not be viewed only as a violation of the principle of separating investigation and indictment or as an attempt to resurrect the prosecution. If we consider cases involving detained suspects that must be handled within statutory deadlines, or cases that are close to the statute of limitations, it is clearly a matter of efficiency.

Lastly, we must block the possibility of abuse of authority by investigative agencies and firmly guarantee their political neutrality. What must be regarded as important in investigations is the source and motive of the investigative lead. Biased investigative tips handed down in a top-down manner from political forces, as well as the indiscriminate filing of complaints and accusations before and after political events such as elections, become a heavy burden and pressure on oversight agencies. What allows these agencies to withstand such burdens and pressures is the establishment of clear standards for handling political investigative leads that could contaminate oversight agencies. This can be described as the starting point for preventing political bias and abuse of authority.

There was a time when the Central Investigation Department, said to be powerful enough to "bring down even flying birds," was abolished, and now the Prosecutors' Office has taken down its signboard. Likewise, no investigative agency remains eternally pure and righteous. If the Public Prosecution Office and the Serious Crimes Investigation Office prove incompetent in protecting the public and become politically biased so that they fail to gain public trust, they may face the same fate in the future. Investigative agencies, always remember death (memento mori)!

Lee Dongyeol, Managing Partner at LawVex (former Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office)

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