Constitutional Appeal on Abolition of Prosecutors' Supplementary Investigation Authority Formally Referred to Constitutional Court

People Power Party’s Constitutional Appeal Formally Referred for Adjudication
Claims That the Checks and Balances of the Criminal Justice System Are Undermined

The revised Criminal Procedure Act, which abolishes prosecutors' authority to conduct direct investigations and supplementary investigations, will be subject to a substantive review by the Constitutional Court.

Park Jiwon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is continuing an unlimited debate on the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act, which centers on the abolition of the prosecutor's supplementary investigation authority, at the plenary session held at the National Assembly on the 31st. 2026.7.31 Photo by Kim Hyunmin

According to the legal community on August 26, the Constitutional Court formally referred for adjudication the constitutional appeal filed by the People Power Party on August 13, which seeks confirmation that parts of the revised Criminal Procedure Act are unconstitutional.

When a constitutional petition is filed, a panel of three justices reviews whether it meets the requirements for filing; if they find no legal defect, the case is referred to the full bench of nine justices for deliberation.

The People Power Party argues that the revised Criminal Procedure Act infringes on the principles of due process, personal liberty, the warrant system and the rights inherent in prosecutors’ authority to request warrants, as well as the right to a prompt and fair trial. The party also maintains that making prosecutors subordinate to the outcome of police investigations undermines the checks and balances within the criminal justice system, and thus violates the functional principle of separation of powers.

The revised Criminal Procedure Act passed the National Assembly’s plenary session at the end of last month and went through the Cabinet meeting earlier this month. Once it takes effect in October, prosecutors will be prohibited from conducting direct investigations, and their authority to conduct supplementary investigations will also be abolished. Instead of conducting supplementary investigations themselves, prosecutors will be able to request supplementary investigations from judicial police officers for cases forwarded by the police.

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