"In a case where securing evidence is urgent day by day, telling prosecutors to only request supplementary investigations from police that take months is like saying we should wait for the truth to disappear."
This is what Han Ji-yu (alias), the daughter of the victim in the "Ganghwa-do abandonment causing injury case," said on the 15th at a news conference titled "Again! Prosecution reform without victims, how do we correct it," held at the Bar Association Hall in Seocho-gu, Seoul. At the news conference, five victims of violent crimes attended and voiced concern over the Democratic Party of Korea's amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act that would abolish prosecutors' authority to order supplementary investigations.
◇ "If supplementary investigations by prosecutors are abolished, victims will have to stay up at night with anxiety and anger"
Earlier, Han's stepfather was indicted on charges of abandonment causing injury for leaving his wife bleeding and collapsed at their home in Ganghwa-gun, Incheon, at about 6:12 p.m. on May 9, 2023, which left her in critical condition.
At first, police referred the case to prosecutors on abandonment charges. After supplementary investigations, including medical assessments, prosecutors concluded that the mother fell into a coma because the stepfather left her unattended and changed the charge from "abandonment" to "abandonment causing injury."
Han said, "The initial police investigation in this case failed. For the victim, the chance to uncover the truth disappeared, and for the perpetrator, it became an opportunity for defense," adding, "If prosecutors' authority to conduct supplementary investigations is abolished, must victims simply wait and stay up at night with anxiety and anger?"
Han said, "At the time of the incident, police did not even secure the perpetrator's clothes and shoes, nor did they properly preserve the scene where bloodstains remained," adding, "I personally asked police to secure the dashcam and closed-circuit (CC)TV, but the actual attempt was made a month later, after all the records had already been deleted."
She also said, "I requested that DNA be taken from my mother's fingernails, but the investigator in charge only responded, 'I'm off work now, so clip them yourself and keep them,'" adding, "It was only nine days later that the forensics team collected the DNA, but by then none remained."
◇ "If prosecutors had not done supplementary investigations, I would not have been helped"
Kim Jin-ju (alias), the victim in the "Busan roundhouse kick case," said the recently proposed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act focus only on strengthening suspects' human rights and do not sufficiently reflect victims' rights.
Kim said, "If the system had prevented prosecutors from conducting supplementary investigations when I desperately needed help from investigative authorities, I would ultimately never have been helped," adding, "I ask lawmakers to listen to the voices of victims suffering on the ground and think again about the direction of the Criminal Procedure Act amendments."
Kim was assaulted by a man she did not know while returning home in 2022. Police referred the perpetrator on aggravated injury charges. Through supplementary investigation, prosecutors changed the charge to attempted murder, and at the appellate stage later presented evidence that the perpetrator attempted to rape Kim, changing the charge to attempted rape and murder. The court also ruled that the state must compensate, saying investigative authorities failed to take necessary steps such as securing evidence, so the sexual violence was not specifically established.
◇ "Police did not question witnesses, prosecutors did"
Jeong Yeon-su (alias), a victim in the "Sejong City middle school girl gang rape case," said in a letter to the organizers that the police investigation was unfair. Jeong said she was raped by four teenagers in Sejong City in 2018 and filed a complaint in 2024. After a 10-month investigation, police decided not to refer the main charges, but prosecutors, who took over just before the statute of limitations expired, indicted the perpetrators through supplementary investigation.
Jeong said, "The (police) investigator suggested that I already knew the perpetrators. I was very taken aback," adding, "I secured and submitted the message contents in which the perpetrators admitted the crime, as well as the contact information of witnesses who were present at the time, but a non-referral decision was made."
She continued, "While being questioned by prosecutors, I thought, 'This is how investigative authorities should be,'" adding, "Witness interviews that police did not conduct were carried out, and important statements were secured." Jeong said, "Supplementary investigation was like salvation to me."
◇ "Only the time victims suffer will grow longer"
Attorneys for the victims also pointed out problems with the Democratic Party of Korea's push to amend the Criminal Procedure Act. They said the direction of the amendments focuses only on reducing prosecutors' powers, leaving out discussions to strengthen the rights of crime victims.
Attorney Oh Ji-won said, "If the currently proposed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act pass, they will cause a rupture, not a separation, between investigation and indictment," adding, "With prosecutors and police ping-ponging cases, only the time victims suffer could grow longer."
Attorney Oh Seon-hee, a former member of the Committee on Judicial and Prosecution Reform, said, "We need a system to compensate for situations where police view cases through a distorted lens or have too many cases to investigate properly."