On Oct. 2, the Prosecution Service will be converted into the Prosecution Office, and many frontline investigative units will be eliminated or merged. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Criminal Intelligence Bureau, which has gathered crime intelligence, will be abolished, and the Forensic Science Department will also be eliminated. The Anti-Corruption Department and the Narcotics and Organized Crime Department will be merged into the Serious Crimes Department. Instead, each regional Prosecution Office will newly establish a Judicial Oversight Department to handle cases not referred for indictment.
◇ Cognizance and joint investigation units consolidated from 43 to 29
The Ministry of Justice said on the 4th that, through consultations among related agencies, it has prepared a draft of the "Prosecution Office organization" and a revision to the "Enforcement Decree of the Prosecutors Quota Act." A public notice of legislation will be conducted through the 9th.
First, the Criminal Intelligence Bureau at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, which has collected crime information, and its two subordinate sections will be abolished. The Anti-Corruption Department and the Narcotics and Organized Crime Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office will be merged into the Serious Crimes Department.
The Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Forensic Science Department will also be reorganized. The current structure of a chief prosecutor level with four sections will be reduced to three sections under a deputy chief prosecutor-level Bureau of Forensic Science Planning. It will be responsible for cross-examinations and evidence preservation and for operating analysis systems essential to decisions on whether to file charges and to maintaining indictments.
The 43 cognizance and joint investigation units that have primarily conducted direct investigations at the frontline will be consolidated into 29 units dedicated to responding to serious crimes. Sixty-seven investigation and inquiry sections will be completely abolished. The positions of the 4th deputy chief prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecution Office and the 2nd deputy chief prosecutors at the Daegu and Busan district Prosecution Offices will also be eliminated.
The Ministry of Justice said it will also establish dedicated departments within the Prosecution Office to respond to joint investigation bodies of investigative agencies such as the Serious Crimes Investigation Office.
Specifically, among the Serious Crimes Units to be established within regional Prosecution Offices, five units will correspond to the five joint investigation sections to be set up at the Serious Crimes Investigation Office and will be responsible for offering legal judgments and opinions on evidence collection at the investigation initiation and warrant application stages. The units said they will also cooperate with investigative agencies at the "transfer-indictment-maintenance of indictment" stages.
If a major case of national or social significance occurs, the plan is to designate relevant departments, such as Prosecution Offices at each level and Serious Crimes Units, as dedicated departments so that prosecutors and joint investigation teams can cooperate.
◇ Stronger review of non-referral cases and recovery of criminal proceeds
Capabilities to handle livelihood-related cases will be strengthened. First, the Criminal Affairs Department at the main Prosecution Office will be expanded and reorganized. By creating a Criminal Affairs Planning Officer (deputy chief prosecutor level), the office will bolster a comprehensive and macro-level response to general criminal cases, which account for 94% of all cases. A "Special Judicial Police Cooperation Section," which will be dedicated to guiding and advising special judicial police officers (special judicial police under prosecutors' supervision), will also be established. The system allowing senior investigators to handle minor cases on behalf of prosecutors will be maintained.
Each regional Prosecution Office will establish a "Judicial Oversight Department" dedicated to reviewing non-referral cases. Until now, non-referral cases were handled together in general prosecutors' offices, but a surge in backlogs has limited the time and resources that could be devoted to them. The Ministry of Justice said it will dispel public concerns about investigative power abuses, such as inadequate investigations by investigative agencies and concealment of cases, by operating a department dedicated to non-referral cases.
In addition, when a judicial police officer fails to comply without just cause with a prosecutor's request for supplemental investigation or corrective measures, the Judicial Oversight Department will reassign the case and review whether supplemental investigations are properly carried out. It also said it will ensure the appropriateness and predictability of judicial oversight by applying unified standards for actions such as disciplinary requests.
Trial and litigation functions will also be strengthened. First, the Trial and Litigation Department at the main office will be expanded and reorganized. To strengthen the linkage among the functions of trials, recovery of narcotics crime proceeds, and execution of sentences, the Criminal Proceeds Recovery Section previously under the Narcotics and Organized Crime Department will be transferred to the Trial and Litigation Department. In addition, a "Prosecution Administration Section" will be established at frontline offices to handle the apprehension of those who have not served imprisonment sentences and to support litigation. Crime Proceeds Recovery Departments and Sections will be created at the Seoul Central, Southern and Busan district Prosecution Offices to track and freeze hidden assets and quickly return them to victims.
The Ministry of Justice said, "Departments being reorganized or newly established, such as the Judicial Oversight Department and the Serious Crimes Unit, will be evaluated over three years for workload, outcomes and performance," adding, "We will work to ensure that the Prosecution Office can take root as a prosecuting body for the public within the new criminal justice system."