The Democratic Party of Korea on the 9th introduced as a party platform a bill to amend the Criminal Procedure Act that would abolish prosecutors' supplementary investigation authority. The bill is aligned with the scheduled Oct. 2 abolition of the Prosecution Service and the launch of the Public Prosecution Office and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency. The bill was introduced jointly by the party's floor leadership and the Criminal Procedure Act task force.
Previously, former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said during the premiership that the issue of supplementary investigation authority would be left to the party. Instead of submitting a separate government bill, it effectively means the government would push the bill submitted by the Democratic Party as its own.
The amendment deletes in its entirety Article 196 of the law, which governs prosecutors' investigations. Instead, it allows judicial police officers to request advice and cooperation from prosecutors on legal judgments or the appropriateness of evidence collection.
After introducing the bill, Rep. Kim Han-kyu met with reporters and said, "It includes adjustments to investigative powers in step with the launch of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the Public Prosecution Office," adding, "Across the Criminal Procedure Act, we streamlined provisions that make prosecutors the lead investigators."
While abolishing prosecutors' supplementary investigation authority, the amendment strengthens the right to demand supplementary investigations. This appears to reflect growing concerns over police evidence destruction and manipulation in light of the recent Jang Yoon-gi case.
Accordingly, when a prosecutor demands a supplementary investigation, the judicial police officer must commence the supplementary investigation and notify the prosecutor of the result. A new provision also specifies a one-month deadline when a prosecutor demands a supplementary investigation, ensuring that the judicial police officer undertakes a substantive supplementary probe. Rep. Kim Han-kyu said, "Even now, failure to comply with a demand for a supplementary investigation can be subject to discipline, but because there was no rule on how long the supplementary investigation had to take, compliance was poor."
In addition, the head of each level of the Public Prosecution Office may, when necessary, demand the replacement of the judicial police officer in charge of the supplementary investigation. If it is difficult to expect an appropriate supplementary investigation from a specific investigative office, the office to conduct the supplementary investigation may be designated. This creates a basis to demand a supplementary investigation from the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency instead of the police.
Rep. Kim Han-kyu also said the authority to demand corrective measures by prosecutors was strengthened. Even before transfer for prosecution, if improper investigation by an investigative agency is identified, the prosecutor may receive the case from the judicial police officer and transfer it to another investigative agency.
Also, for cases not sent for prosecution, the judicial police officer must send the prosecutor a list of documents and records created during the investigation and materials obtained.
Provisions to sanction judicial police officers were also strengthened and refined for cases where they do not comply without reason with a prosecutor's legitimate demand for a supplementary investigation, a demand for corrective measures, or a request for reinvestigation. In addition, when crimes by public officials belonging to an investigative agency are discovered, the head of that agency must notify and refer the case to another competent investigative agency. As in the Jang Yoon-gi case, if police crimes are confirmed, it must be notified to the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency for investigation.
Rep. Lee Hae-sik explained, "In the process of investigating the Jang Yoon-gi case, the destruction of evidence by the investigator was revealed during the prosecutor's supplementary investigation, but this is not something that can be uncovered only through a supplementary investigation," adding, "It is necessary in the long term to make the Police Commission substantive or to introduce a municipal police system to decentralize police powers."
In addition, when an improper investigation is suspected, not only the suspect but also the complainant, the victim, or a legal representative can report directly to the prosecutor, and the scope of objections to non-referral decisions is expanded from complainants to accusers.
The Democratic Party plans to place the Criminal Procedure Act amendment on the agenda of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's subcommittee for bills for review on the morning of the 10th. Rep. Kim Seung-won said, "We plan to hold meetings once a week or more than twice a week to conduct focused and swift reviews." In addition, on the 15th, a party-government meeting will be held with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to receive a detailed report on establishing the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency.
The Criminal Procedure Act task force said, "The amendment includes not only adjustments to the investigative powers of the police and prosecutors but also measures to strengthen oversight and checks on investigative agencies, and to protect complainants and victims," adding, "We will work to ensure the Legislation and Judiciary Committee reviews it swiftly and thoroughly so that the Public Prosecution Office Act and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency Act can take effect without delay, and to create investigative and judicial systems that help the public."