At a Cabinet meeting on the 3rd, the government submitted and approved bills to establish the Serious Crimes Investigation Office Act and the Prosecution Office Act. The government plan to set up the Serious Crimes Investigation Office and the Prosecution Office, which will launch with the dismantling of the prosecution in Oct., has been finalized.
As follow-up measures, the government will launch intensive opinion gathering in March–April on issues related to the Criminal Procedure Act, including whether to grant supplementary investigation authority to prosecutors of the Prosecution Office.
◇ Discussion on "measures to control investigation and indictment powers," among others
A government official said, "We will go through an intensive public debate period to minimize side effects feared in the process of improving the criminal justice system through the separation of investigation and indictment, and to devise measures that most robustly protect the public."
Key topics to be closely reviewed are: ▲ measures to strengthen cooperation between prosecutors and police after the separation of investigation and indictment ▲ measures to control investigation and indictment powers ▲ the exceptional need for supplementary investigation ▲ ways to enhance the effectiveness of requests for supplementary investigation.
The government plans to hear a wide range of opinions from the public, experts from various fields, crime victims, and civil society through public debates, advisory committees, and opinion polls.
Earlier, on the 24th of last month, attorney Kim Ye-won (Center for Disability Rights Law), attorney Kim Eun-jeong (Leum), and crime victims discussed "the prosecution reform that crime victims want." On the 11th, the government will co-host a public debate with the Korean Bar Association, and on the 16th, it will hold a comprehensive forum organized by the Prosecution Reform Promotion Team.
◇ Judges, lawyers, and prosecutors are negative on police authority not to refer cases
Previously, from Dec. 17, 2025 to Jan. 25, 2026, the Prosecution Reform Promotion Team commissioned Global R&C to conduct a "survey on perceptions related to prosecution reform" (sampling error ±1.6 percentage points at the 95% confidence level) of the general public, experts, and relevant public officials.
In the survey, among the general public, 45.4% responded positively and 34.2% negatively on whether to recognize the supplementary investigation authority of prosecutors at the Prosecution Office. Positive responses were "recognize direct supplementary investigation as at present" and "recognize limited direct supplementary investigation," while negative responses were "ban direct supplementary investigation" and "ban even requests for supplementary investigation." In in-depth interviews with experts and relevant public officials, many said prosecutors need supplementary investigation authority.
With the adjustment of investigative powers between prosecutors and police implemented under the Moon Jae-in administration in 2021, the police's obligation to refer all cases was abolished. Since then, the police have not referred to prosecutors cases they themselves have dismissed as no suspicion. Negative responses were high among judges (73.3%), lawyers (60%), professors (79.2%), and prosecutors (92.3%), while 62.5% of police evaluated it positively.
On the police authority not to refer cases, 66.7% of judges, 75.0% of lawyers, 91.7% of professors, 88.5% of prosecutors, and 50% of police said improvements are needed. The reasons cited included "investigation delays" and "lack of investigative capacity."