Prosecution reform task force to submit supplementary investigation right proposals this week

A special task force under the Prime Minister's Office is set to submit two draft amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act to the Democratic Party this week. These proposals concern the prosecution's right to request supplementary investigations for cases that will be handled by the newly established Prosecution Office in October.

The two proposed amendments offer distinct approaches. The first grants the prosecution only the authority to request supplementary investigations, without the power to conduct them directly. The second proposal allows for a minimal level of supplementary investigation powers, strictly limited to fact-finding or voluntary investigations, excluding any coercive measures. This careful limitation aims to address concerns about potential overreach.

President Lee Jae-myung highlighted the need for such powers during his anniversary press conference, citing examples like missing resident registration numbers or the need to verify fingerprints. He suggested that the issue should be discussed in the National Assembly without the government rigidly adhering to a single stance.

While the task force is moving forward with these proposals, it has decided not to include a controversial plan for the mandatory transfer of all cases investigated by the police to the prosecution, regardless of whether charges are deemed necessary. Currently, police forward only cases they believe warrant charges, but they must transfer cases to the prosecution if victims or complainants file an objection. The task force is considering allowing whistleblowers to also file such objections.

Discussions are ongoing regarding the possibility of granting the prosecution the right to conduct supplementary investigations, referred to as "supplementary investigation rights," if direct supplementary investigation powers are not recognized. However, the prevailing direction appears to be against including this in the amendments. The issue of adjusting current detention periods for investigations, which are 10 days for police and 20 days for prosecutors, has also been raised but is not expected to be part of this legislative effort.

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The supplementary investigation right issue needs a swift conclusion, but we can only discuss the timeline after the National Assembly's committee structure is finalized.