Even Progressive Minbyun: 7 Out of 10 Members Say Prosecutors Should Retain Supplementary Investigation Authority

Majority Support for Retaining Supplementary Investigation Authority
About 7 Out of 10 Members in Survey Favor Keeping It

Yonhap News Agency

A majority of members of Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun), a progressive lawyers’ association, believe that prosecutors should retain the supplementary investigation authority.

On July 7, Minbyun announced the results of a survey conducted from June 30 to July 3 among 403 members regarding proposed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act. According to the survey, 31.3% (126 respondents) answered that the prosecutors’ supplementary investigation authority should be completely abolished.

Meanwhile, 45.9% of respondents supported “partial retention,” and 21.1% favored “full retention,” meaning that approximately 67% believe that some or all of the supplementary investigation authority should remain in place.

When asked about necessary institutional improvements if the supplementary investigation authority were to be fully abolished, 78.3% (multiple responses allowed) said that the effectiveness of the supplementary investigation request system should be strengthened. Many also cited the need for improvements to the reinvestigation request system (58.7%) and for strengthening the investigation review committee (47.2%). If the supplementary investigation authority is to be recognized, 35.1% said that only voluntary investigations should be permitted, prohibiting compulsory investigations. However, 64.9% responded that compulsory investigations should also be allowed.

Regarding the full-case referral system, 23.8% said it should be partially introduced, 23.6% said it should be fully restored, and 6.7% supported a conditional full-case referral system. Meanwhile, 43.2% opposed changes and said that the current system should be maintained.

Minbyun stated, “Despite extensive and intense debate over a considerable period regarding the proposed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act, we were unable to reach a unified position on some issues.” Instead of expressing a single stance on each issue, the results of the survey were released.

However, Minbyun emphasized that the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Act should not be based on political interests or controversies over past mistakes. The association pointed out, “Issues surrounding the prosecutors’ supplementary investigation authority and the full-case referral system should be discussed in depth solely from the perspective of realizing judicial justice.”

Addressing the National Assembly, Minbyun stated, “It must be clearly kept in mind that the purpose of designing these systems is not a power struggle between agencies.” The association called for a framework that would allow the two agencies (the Serious Crimes Investigation Office and the Prosecution Service), as well as the existing police and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, to provide mutual checks and balances.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.