A promulgation bill for amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act that completely ban prosecutors from conducting direct investigations, including supplementary investigations, passed the Cabinet meeting. President Lee Jae-myung stressed the sense of responsibility and ethics of the police, whose authority will grow with the abolition of prosecutorial investigative powers.
The government held a Cabinet meeting on the 4th, presided over by the president, to review and approve the promulgation bill.
The amended bill removes the legal basis for prosecutors' direct investigative powers and their authority to conduct supplementary investigations in cases transferred by police. Prosecutors may request supplementary investigations from judicial police officers, and police must complete the supplementary investigation within up to two months. The court may dismiss an indictment on grounds such as serious illegal investigations and a marked departure from the discretion to prosecute.
With the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Act, the criminal justice system was overhauled for the first time in 72 years. The Democratic Party of Korea welcomed the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act as completing "prosecution reform," but many in politics voiced concerns. They said police powers will become bloated and the disappearance of prosecutorial supplementary investigations could significantly infringe on the legal interests of crime victims.
At the Cabinet meeting that day, the president said, "Now the police will have enormous authority, and I cannot help but worry about whether it will truly be safe going forward," adding, "Whether the police have the mindset to bear responsibilities that match their expanded authority is another matter."
The president also said, "When police mishandle investigations, there are cases where a perpetrator becomes a victim, or conversely a victim ends up like a perpetrator and goes to prison," adding, "At a minimum, shouldn't they be dismissed or removed, or be permanently barred from conducting investigations? Wouldn't that raise their sense of responsibility?"
The president went on, "Attacks, monitoring, and checks on the police will become very intense going forward, and other power institutions will look for what the police are doing wrong," adding, "This is to urge them to do better, so they must prepare thoroughly in advance and work rigorously with a high sense of responsibility and ethics."
At the Cabinet meeting, the bill on the appointment of a special prosecutor for fact-finding into alleged violations of the people's suffrage, including the shortage of ballot papers in the 9th nationwide local elections (National Election Commission special prosecutor bill), was also approved.
The special prosecutor will investigate cases involving violations of the people's suffrage, including the shortage of ballot papers that occurred in the June 3 local elections. Candidates for special prosecutor are recommended through the "National Recommendation Committee" formed by the National Assembly negotiation blocs. The special prosecutor's team will be composed of 165 members, and the activity period will be up to 170 days.