There are concerns that the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Scientific Investigation Department's nearly 20-year status as an internationally accredited testing laboratory could be shaken by a reorganization following the abolition of prosecutorial investigative authority.
If the functions, personnel, and equipment of the Scientific Investigation Department are transferred to other agencies such as the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, changes or a reassessment of its international accreditation may be required. Legal experts note that if the department is split up or key personnel move during the reorganization, the scientific investigation capabilities it has built and its international credibility could be damaged.
◇"International accreditation" protected for 20 years… from DNA to digital forensics
According to legal sources on the 31st, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office has maintained its status as an internationally accredited testing laboratory with the Korea Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (KOLAS) since 2007. It is currently accredited for 20 testing and examination methods in forensic science, including DNA analysis, handwriting and questioned document examinations, and digital forensics.
KOLAS accreditation evaluates the quality management systems and technical competence of testing and inspection bodies to verify whether the institution can conduct tests and analyses at a level recognized internationally.
Because KOLAS participates as a member of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), test reports issued by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office are mutually recognized in about 100 countries that apply the ILAC agreement. It effectively serves as international certification underpinning the reliability of forensic results.
In actual trials, analyses by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Scientific Investigation Department have been used as decisive evidence. In the so-called "Busan roundhouse kick case" in 2022, the department analyzed 121 samples collected from the victim's clothing and identified the DNA of a person surnamed Lee, the assailant. This evidence was accepted on appeal, and Lee's charge changed from attempted murder to attempted rape-murder. The following year, the Supreme Court finalized a 20-year prison sentence.
The technique used at the time was the "Y-chromosome STR DNA analysis," which analyzes the male Y chromosome. This is also one of the test methods for which the Supreme Prosecutors' Office is accredited by KOLAS.
◇If organization, personnel, or equipment change, "international accreditation" is reassessed
The issue arises after the abolition of prosecutorial investigative authority. Some in the ruling camp argue that, in reorganizing the prosecution, the main functions, personnel, and equipment of the Scientific Investigation Department should be transferred to the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency or integrated with the National Forensic Service. Depending on the reorganization plan, the department's affiliation, test locations, key equipment, and technical and quality managers could change.
Under the current Enforcement Rule of the Act on Conformity Assessment, accredited institutions must file a change report if their legal status or organizational structure changes. If major matters that affect accreditation criteria, such as the location of business sites or facilities, are altered, a separate assessment is also required.
According to the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards, if only the institution's name changes while test locations, personnel, and equipment remain the same, the change can be processed through a document review. If test locations change, both a document review and an on-site assessment must be conducted again. If key personnel such as the technical manager or quality manager change, a competency evaluation must also be carried out.
An official at the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards said, "If nonconformities are found during the on-site assessment, minor ones are remedied through corrective actions," and added, "If the degree of nonconformity is serious, accreditation for a specific scope or even for the entire institution can be revoked."
◇Fate of the Scientific Investigation Department is "undecided"… organizational overhaul is the biggest variable
The fate of the Scientific Investigation Department is still unknown. The organizational plan for the Prosecution Service Office has not been announced, leaving undecided whether the department will remain in the Prosecution Service Office and, if so, at what scale. The organizational plan could be announced as early as this week.
Ho Seung-jin, a former head of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Digital Investigations Division and now managing partner at HyeMyeong Law, said, "The Supreme Prosecutors' Office has made tremendous efforts to maintain KOLAS accreditation," and added, "If the Scientific Investigation Department is reorganized, it is concerning that even the international accreditation status the Supreme Prosecutors' Office has built could be shaken."