The National Assembly passed an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act on Friday that strips prosecutors of their direct investigative authority, marking a sweeping overhaul of a criminal justice framework largely unchanged since its enactment in 1954.
The bill cleared the plenary session with 175 votes in favor, two against and one abstention, out of 178 members present. The People Power Party, which launched a filibuster Thursday when the bill was brought to the floor and continued debate through the night, boycotted the final vote. The Democratic Party of Korea and progressive-leaning opposition parties drove the bill to passage.
The amendment fully separates investigation from indictment, barring prosecutors from conducting direct investigations. It also abolishes prosecutors' supplementary investigative authority, though prosecutors may still request that judicial police officers carry out supplementary investigations on their behalf.
Under the new rules, police must complete any such supplementary investigation within one month and report the results to the prosecutor. The investigation period may be extended by up to one additional month if necessary. All materials gathered during an investigation must be recorded in the Criminal Justice Information System, known as KICS.
To strengthen victim protections, the amendment allows complainants, victims and informants to file objections when police decide not to refer a case for prosecution. They will also be granted the right to review and copy case records needed to support such objections.
The amendment also adds two new grounds for dismissing a prosecution: cases brought on the basis of a serious procedural violation during the investigation, and cases in which prosecutorial discretion was exercised in a manner that grossly exceeds its proper bounds.
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