Panel also stresses full-case transfer, special judicial police oversight

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]
The Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]

By Choi Eui-jong, The Herald Business

As discussions on revising the Criminal Procedure Act move forward to fine-tune the new institutional framework — ahead of the prosecution service's scheduled abolition in October, when a new Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and a separate prosecution office are set to replace it — an advisory committee under the prime minister's office-affiliated Prosecution Reform Task Force said prosecutors must retain at least limited supplementary investigation powers.

The advisory committee released a statement Monday saying it had "continuously raised key issues in fulfilling its duty as experts to the task force," and that it "cannot help but be concerned about the possibility that the amendment will be finalized without sufficiently reflecting the concerns and opinions raised, and without the essential supplementary measures being put in place." The statement was signed by committee chair Lee Geun-woo and members Ryu Gyeong-eun, Park Jun-young, Yang Hong-seok, Yun Ji-young, Lee Woo-young, Jeong Ji-ung and Chae Da-eun.

The Prosecution Reform Task Force plans to draft an initial amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act and consult with the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Yong-min, Rebuilding Korea Party lawmaker Park Eun-jeong and independent lawmaker Choi Hyeok-jin — all considered hard-liners within the pro-government bloc — held a press conference June 5 to unveil a proposed "new Criminal Procedure Act" that would entirely strip prosecutors of their investigative and investigative oversight powers.

In its statement, the advisory committee said "sound institutional design is impossible through 'rubber-stamp deliberation' aimed at justifying pre-set conclusions," and called for a criminal justice system that "genuinely incorporates the concerns and alternatives raised during the broad opinion-gathering process, so that the intended goals of protecting human rights and advancing the public interest are properly realized."

The committee said the following reforms are necessary: an overhaul of the criminal justice system aimed at protecting the public interest and achieving criminal justice; allowing prosecutors to conduct supplementary investigations, at least on a limited basis; redesigning the supplementary investigation request regime; restoring the full-case transfer system; and reorganizing the oversight and supervision framework for special judicial police.

The committee said that "if the functions performed by existing institutions are reduced or abolished, alternatives must be presented for how to fill the resulting gaps," and that "this restructuring should be designed not around the change in the authority structure itself, but in a direction that substantively protects the public interest and faithfully delivers criminal justice."

The committee also said "prosecutors must have the ability to review cases again and confirm necessary details at the stage of deciding whether to indict, in order to uncover the substantive truth and ensure appropriate and accountable case handling," adding that "a blanket ban on direct supplementary investigation, replaced solely by supplementary investigation requests, has practical limitations."

The committee went on to say that "if the system is designed to prevent prosecutors from directly supplementing cases, there must at minimum be a binding mechanism to ensure that necessary supplementation is carried out promptly and substantively through investigative agencies," and that broad exception clauses such as "justifiable cause" — which could be used as grounds for non-compliance — need to be more clearly defined.

The committee also raised concerns that since police were granted the power to close cases without referral, "the burden of challenging initial investigation outcomes has been shifted onto victims and parties involved in cases," and said that "if the system is designed to entirely prohibit prosecutors from conducting supplementary investigations, the full-case transfer system should be fully restored in tandem."

In addition, the committee said "special judicial police inevitably lack sufficient expertise, making external oversight mechanisms necessary," and called for clear judicial oversight throughout the investigation process, along with an accountability structure for investigative failures, in addition to measures to secure basic qualifications through the selection, appointment and retraining of special judicial police.

The Prosecution Reform Task Force formed the advisory committee last October to provide expert counsel. The panel was composed of 16 specialists from the legal profession, academia and civic organizations.

However, after the government announced in January its legislative plan to establish the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the new prosecution office, six members resigned, saying the reform effort was moving in a direction that would revive prosecutorial power. In March, committee chair Park Chan-woon stepped down with roughly six months left in his term, citing concerns over the pace and direction of the reforms.


bell@heraldcorp.com