With the Prosecution Service set to be dismantled in Oct. and the Public Prosecution Office and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency (SCI) scheduled to launch, the government reissued a revised legislative notice for the bills establishing the Public Prosecution Office and the SCI after amending the drafts.
The Prosecution Reform Task Force under the Prime Minister's Office said on the 24th it would reissue a legislative notice for the revised bills to establish the SCI and the Public Prosecution Office through the 26th. Earlier, the government issued a legislative notice for the two bills on the 12th of last month, but after claims from the ruling camp that the Prosecution Service would effectively remain in place, it collected opinions and made revisions.
The Democratic Party of Korea adopted the revised plan, which the government drafted reflecting the party's views, as its official position on the 22nd.
◇ SCI investigation targets cut from 9 to 6… corruption, economy, narcotics, defense procurement, national protection, cyber
In the revised plan, the task force reduced the SCI's investigation targets from the nine specified in the original bill to six by excluding crimes involving public officials, elections, and major disasters. Accordingly, the SCI will target crimes of corruption, economy, defense procurement, narcotics, cyber, and national protection such as insurrection and treason.
The original bill split the SCI's personnel system into investigation magistrates and professional investigators. The revised plan unifies it into a single grade system of investigators from Grade 1 to Grade 9. It accepted criticism that a dual-track personnel system would, in effect, be no different from the current prosecutor–investigator structure.
However, for prosecution personnel who transfer to the initial SCI, existing salaries and retirement age will be guaranteed. It was also stipulated in the supplementary provisions that they may be appointed as investigators of corresponding ranks. Ranks will be determined based on years of service or roles.
The qualifications for SCI director were eased so that a person without a lawyer's license may serve if that person has worked for 15 years or more in investigation or legal affairs.
The title of the head of the Public Prosecution Office remains "prosecutor general" in the revised plan. The Democratic Party promoted a plan to change the title to "public prosecution director," but the government reportedly determined there was a potential constitutional issue.
◇ Prosecutors cannot face disadvantages for "raising objections" to superiors' command or oversight
Previously, dismissing a prosecutor was only possible through impeachment or a sentence of imprisonment without labor or heavier. By adding "dismissal" to the types of disciplinary action for Public Prosecution Office prosecutors, as with ordinary civil servants, prosecutors can now be dismissed through disciplinary measures.
It also codified that a prosecutor who raises an objection to the legality or propriety of a superior's command or oversight must not be subjected to disadvantageous measures or treatment for that reason.
Regarding the authority for a local public prosecution director to request exclusion from duty when a judicial police officer engages in improper conduct related to duty execution, the provision was revised by changing "replacement appointment" to "exclusion from duty" and "appointing authority" to "head of the affiliated agency."