The Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (경실련) opposed the Democratic Party of Korea's so-called 'prosecutorial reform' initiative to abolish the prosecutors' supplementary investigative authority. 경실련 argued that the police should not prematurely close cases and that prosecutors should be able to conduct supplementary investigations.
경실련 noted in a statement released on the 3rd, "There are discussions in some quarters of the ruling party and government to completely abolish the already limited supplementary investigative authority of the prosecutors," adding that "this could seriously harm the rights of victims."
It also stated, "I agree with the principle of separating investigation and prosecution," but cautioned that, "In a situation where there are no measures to restrain the police's arbitrary non-prosecution, we express serious concern over attempts to further reduce the authority of supplementary investigations for cases that have been referred."
The Moon Jae-in administration abolished the investigative command authority of prosecutors and established a non-prosecution authority for the police through the 2021 so-called 'prosecutorial rights overhaul.' 경실련 stated, "The prosecutors' supplementary investigations are limited to the scope of the same case, blocking investigations into accomplices and additional crimes," and noted that "the principles for requesting supplementary investigations were completely removed in 2023, worsening the situation."
경실련 asserted that "In the current system, direct supplementary investigations by prosecutors are limited to referred cases and serve as a minimal safety measure to fulfill prosecutorial responsibilities."
It continued, "Countries such as Germany and Japan require the police to refer all cases to prosecutors, and prosecutors have the authority to request supplementary investigations, and some direct supplements are also possible," adding that "it is rare to have a system like Korea's where the police can unilaterally close cases."
경실련 called for the restoration of the direct case referral system to block the possibility of arbitrary non-prosecution and insisted that "Prosecutors' supplementary investigations should only be used in cases where police investigations are clearly insufficient or when objective evidence is lacking, or when a victim's objection has been raised."
The Democratic Party is pushing for a 'prosecutorial reform' plan that would transition the prosecution office to a public prosecution service dedicated solely to indictments, divide investigative functions among the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, and the National Investigation Headquarters, and establish a National Investigation Commission for oversight.
경실련 argued that "the idea of controlling all investigative agencies through the National Investigation Commission, without considering the independence of each investigative agency and democratic control mechanisms, could expand political interference in these agencies."
경실련 urged the Democratic Party to include in its prosecutorial reform proposal ▲ restoration of the direct case referral system for the police ▲ measures to restrain the abuse of the non-prosecution authority by the police and ensure the independence of each investigative agency ▲ independence of the National Investigation Headquarters from the Korean National Police Agency ▲ and strengthening measures for indictment juries and investigation review committees.