1,650 Supplementary Investigation Requests Flood Police in Prosecution Office’s First Week

[Financial News] Police received more than 1,650 requests for supplementary investigations during the Prosecution Office’s first week, according to the available figures.
On the 13th, according to data submitted by the National Police Agency to Park Sang-ung, a People Power Party lawmaker on the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee, the Prosecution Office had requested supplementary investigations in 1,654 cases by the 8th.
These were cases that police had initially investigated and referred to prosecutors, who were handling them. Police say it is difficult to determine the total number of cases that may require supplementary investigations going forward.
Under the amended Criminal Procedure Act, which took effect on the 2nd, prosecutors’ powers to conduct direct investigations and direct supplementary investigations were abolished entirely. When additional investigation is needed to decide whether to indict or to maintain a prosecution, Prosecution Office prosecutors will request a supplementary investigation from an investigative agency such as the police, which will be responsible for conducting the actual investigation.
As of the 8th, 45 cases that prosecutors had initiated and conducted as direct investigations had been transferred to the police. Police estimate that about 109 more direct-investigation cases nationwide will be transferred because prosecutors cannot complete them within the 90-day grace period. However, the actual number of cases transferred may change depending on how many are handled during the grace period.
Separately, 1,954 cases involving people on wanted lists for which prosecutors had suspended indictments were transferred to the police.
If transfers of unresolved cases and requests for supplementary investigations pick up in the coming period, front-line investigative units will have to handle newly received cases alongside transferred cases and additional investigations following referrals to prosecutors. Since supplementary investigations must, as a rule, be completed within one month, handling transferred cases and further investigations after referral in a timely manner is seen as a key early challenge in establishing the new criminal justice system.


[email protected] Kim Dong-gyu Reporter