[Column by Nodong-il] Stop the Dismantling of the Criminal Justice System

"The Jeju missing-person case is a problem that could happen even if prosecutors are left with supplementary investigative powers." That was the remark made by Rep. Park Eun-jung of the Rebuilding Korea Party (RKP). As public anger over the Jeju case grew, lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea, including Kim Min-seok, also said it was "unrelated to supplementary investigative powers." It is true that the Jeju case has nothing to do with prosecutors' supplementary investigative powers. But they are ignoring the broader context: this incident is a backlash from the so-called prosecution reform. The point made by former Democratic Party spokesperson Ha Heongi, who criticized Park's claim as "logical sleight of hand," goes straight to the heart of the matter. He said, "The question is not how to handle a missing adult case right now. What we are talking about is whether giving the police the power to initiate investigations, decline referrals, and close cases could lead to favoritism or concealment." The ruling bloc's prosecution reform centers on stripping prosecutors of their investigative and supervisory powers while giving the police the authority to initiate investigations, close cases, and decide not to refer cases for prosecution. As the former spokesperson said, that is where the problem lies. If prosecutors still had investigative and supervisory authority, the police would not have been able to so easily close the case or try to bury it.
What if the death-by-torture case of Park Jong-chul in 1987 happened today? It would likely have been closed after the police announced, "He died after hitting a desk." At the time, then-Head of the Public Security Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Choi Hwan refused the police request to cremate the body and ordered that the remains be preserved and autopsied, which allowed the truth to come out. This is not a matter of good prosecutors versus bad police. If the principle of checks and balances between prosecutors and police is ignored and power is concentrated in a giant police force, confusion and side effects are inevitable. In cases such as the Busan roundhouse-kick assault case, the Jang Yoon-gi case, and the Jeju missing-person case, all of the victims were women. The reality of South Korea's criminal justice system today is the result of ignoring warnings that dismantling the prosecution would harm only the socially vulnerable.
Some argue that measures such as requests for supplementary investigations, requests for reinvestigation, replacement of investigators, changes in investigative agencies, and meetings with prosecutors are sufficient. But these are little more than a list of ineffective measures, including a system of prosecutor meetings whose records cannot even be used as evidence in court. It is like blocking a highway and building several complicated local roads, then insisting that local roads are roads too. The real intent is to prevent investigations into politicians while adding more inconvenience for the public. Whenever an issue arises, responsibility is pushed down to front-line officials and patchwork measures are hastily assembled. Punishment and disciplinary action against those involved, rotating assignments, recusal rules, internal corruption investigation teams, bans on case inquiries, bans on private contact, double-checking missing-person cases, and nationwide inspections are all presented as ad hoc "solutions." It is like adding winding side roads to a network of local roads.
The real chaos that could shake the criminal justice system is still ahead. On October 2, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office of the Republic of Korea (SPO) will be abolished, and the Serious Crime Investigation Agency will launch. In place of the SPO, the key investigative body responsible for seven major crimes, including corruption, economic crimes, and narcotics, will begin operations without even having proper office space, personnel, or IT systems. Imagine transferring 1.55 million prosecution cases to the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency. Concerns about the confusion that will arise in the process of handing over records and seized materials are only natural.
Last August, the Seoul High Court handed down a sentence of one year in prison, suspended for two years, in the appeal trial of former police commissioner Kim, who had been indicted in the CIO's first ex officio investigation on bribery charges involving 700 million won. That was a reduction from the 10-year prison term imposed by the lower court. The court also dismissed the charges against the alleged bribe giver and others, saying the CIO has no authority to prosecute or maintain charges against ordinary citizens who are neither high-ranking officials nor their family members. The CIO's investigative capacity is a problem, but the more serious issue is the dismissal caused by legislative gaps. This was the CIO that prosecution reform advocates had touted as one of their achievements. Five years after its launch in 2021, the dismissal ruling in the CIO's first ex officio case is a preview of the jurisdictional confusion that will emerge among the CIO, the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, and the National Office of Investigation. There is also no way to control the bloating of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, which will oversee the Serious Crime Investigation Agency and the National Office of Investigation, or its subordination to political power. It is questionable whether a country that overhauls a criminal justice system built over more than 70 years in this way can truly be called advanced. Now, with no blueprint in place, it is building a massive organization and talking about launching police reform. One cannot help wondering whether the conclusion is that the police, like the prosecution and the military academy, should simply be dismantled.
According to Gallup Korea Research Institute statistics, approval for President Lee among women in their 20s fell 16 percentage points, from 61% in July last year to 45% in July this year. Over the same period, support among women in their 30s dropped 22 points, from 69% to 47%. The loss of women in their 20s and 30s, who had been a key support base for President Lee, is said to stem largely from fears about public safety after the abolition of supplementary investigative powers. Warning lights have already been flashing over the dismantling of South Korea's criminal justice system. If the country ignores the yellow light and keeps speeding ahead, a major accident is inevitable. There is still time. Before so-called prosecution reform turns into a harmful overhaul and reaches a point of no return, reflection is needed. The solution is not difficult. All that is required is to listen to the many alternatives repeatedly proposed by experts rather than to hard-line supporters.
[email protected] Reporter