Korean Bar Association to Hold Public Hearing on Serious Crimes Investigation Agency’s Investigative Expertise on the 11th

The Financial News reported that the Korean Bar Association (KBA) will hold a public hearing to discuss investigative expertise in connection with the establishment of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency and the Public Prosecution Office.
The KBA announced on the 3rd that it will host a "Public Hearing on Strengthening the Capabilities of Investigative Agencies" at 2 p.m. on the 11th in the basement seminar room of the Korean Bar Association Hall.
The event is being organized jointly with the Prosecution Reform Task Force. It aims to examine the coherence of the system and ways to ensure a stable transition as the criminal justice system is overhauled, including the separation of investigation and prosecution functions and the creation of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the Public Prosecution Office.
The hearing will focus on the draft bill, re-notified on February 24, to establish the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the Public Prosecution Office, and will address issues such as organizational structure and personnel design. Participants will also discuss how to balance investigative expertise with legal competence, the supplementary investigation framework under a separated investigation–prosecution structure, and key issues in amending the Criminal Procedure Act.
Earlier, the government had given prior notice of legislation in January for a bill to establish the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the Public Prosecution Office, and then issued a revised notice on February 24. Under the revised proposal, the investigative scope of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency would be adjusted from the current nine major crime categories to six, excluding crimes involving public officials, elections, and large-scale disasters, and its personnel system would be unified into a single rank of "investigator."
Kim Joo-hyun, the KBA’s second policy director, will serve as moderator, while KBA Senior Vice President Lee Jae-heon will chair the discussion. Kim Gi-won, senior vice president of the Seoul Bar Association, and Professor Ryu Kyoung-eun of Korea University School of Law will each give presentations on the organizational structure of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and on the supplementary investigative powers of the Public Prosecution Office.
Designated discussants will include attorney Yang Hongseok, Munhwa Ilbo reporter Kang Han, KBA Vice President Kim Seung-hyun, Professor Lee Chang-on of the Department of Law, Ewha Womans University, and Ha In-ho, head of the Administrative Support Bureau at the Prosecution Reform Task Force. They will explore ways to strengthen the capabilities of investigative bodies.
The KBA stressed that the current reform drive will fundamentally reshape the national criminal justice system, stating, "The need is growing to prevent any decline in investigative expertise and to improve judicial control mechanisms that protect human rights."
It added, "We hope this public hearing will serve as a milestone that sets design standards for the system from the perspective of guaranteeing basic rights and realizing criminal justice," and continued, "Because reform of the criminal justice system is directly linked to the basic rights of the people, it requires thorough review and broad public debate."
scottchoi15@fnnews.com Choi Eun-sol Reporter