DP Accelerates All-Case Referral Legislation for Seven Major Crimes... Expected Passage in September

Law Set to Take Effect on October 2

The Democratic Party is expected to push for passage of the "All-Case Referral for Seven Major Crimes" bill, which aims to address potential side effects caused by the abolition of the supplementary investigation authority, as early as next month in the National Assembly.

Kim Seungwon, Secretary of the Democratic Party on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly, is speaking at the briefing session on "The Much Improved Criminal Procedure Act" held at the National Assembly on the 2nd. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Seo Youngkyo, Democratic Party lawmaker and Chair of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, stated at a press briefing held at the National Assembly on the 2nd, "We expect to make legislative adjustments during the regular session in September, before the parliamentary audit in October." Kim Seungwon, the ruling party whip of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, also said, "The relevant bill is at the stage of being introduced," and added, "We will process it as quickly as possible."

In consideration of concerns that criminal investigations targeting vulnerable groups in society may weaken following the abolition of the supplementary investigation authority, the Democratic Party has decided to introduce all-case referral for the following seven major crimes: child abuse, domestic violence, sex crimes, child sex crimes, stalking, abuse of persons with disabilities, and elder abuse.

All-case referral is a system in which incidents investigated by primary investigative agencies such as the police are referred without exception to the prosecution so that prosecutors can review them once more. The Democratic Party plans to implement this not by revising the Criminal Procedure Act, but through individual amendments to relevant laws.

The Democratic Party also plans to accelerate follow-up legislation tied to the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Act. Assemblyman Kim stated, "There are around 190 laws that need to be updated in relation to the amendment," and added, "Consultation with related agencies has been completed, and the law is expected to go into effect without any issues on October 2."

The Democratic Party plans to hold a public briefing on the revised bill on the 3rd to explain the necessity of follow-up legislation to the public.

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