Prosecutors and special judicial police (special police) operations managers gathered in one place. They sought ways to cooperate ahead of the revised Criminal Procedure Act taking effect on the 2nd of next month, which will eliminate prosecutors' authority to direct investigations of the special police.
The Supreme Prosecutors' Office Criminal Affairs Department (Prosecutor General Lee Man-heum) said on the 14th it held the "2026 special judicial police operations managers meeting" at the National Digital Forensic Center (NDFC) of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul. The meeting drew 52 participants, including cooperation officials for the special police from the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and operations managers for the special police from 41 central administrative agencies and local governments.
The meeting discussed cooperation plans to establish the new criminal justice system and strengthen the investigative capacity of the special police. The special police are public officials at administrative agencies who crack down on and investigate crimes in their areas of responsibility, such as labor, taxes, tariff, food, and environment, with about 20,000 operating nationwide. Until now, the special police were under prosecutors' investigative direction, but starting on the 2nd of next month, with the revised Criminal Procedure Act taking effect, the relationship will shift from command and supervision to mutual cooperation.
At the meeting, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office introduced the changes to the special police system, and the Ministry of Justice outlined key elements of the draft "regulations on mutual cooperation between prosecutors and the special police," which it is currently pursuing. Under the draft, when needed, the special police may request guidance and advice from prosecutors and use that input in investigations, minimizing any gap from the abolition of prosecutorial command authority.
Plans to strengthen special police training were also shared. The Legal Research and Training Institute plans to sharply expand special police training from the current 20 sessions a year for 1,000 people to 75 sessions a year for 5,100 people. Beyond basic training, it will introduce career- and cycle-based programs that consider experience and proficiency, along with tailored professional and advanced courses by special police job field, and a manager course for special police operations managers. It will incorporate the latest investigative issues and case law by field into the curriculum and build a system to offer online lectures.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL), the Korea Customs Service, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government rolled out plans to build agency-specific responsible investigation systems, including improving their own investigation direction and review frameworks and standardizing investigative procedures, in preparation for the revised Criminal Procedure Act taking effect.
An official at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office said, "We will continue to provide education and support for the special police and work closely with each agency to help the new criminal justice system take root stably."