Concerns Over Tens of Thousands of Cases, But Only 2,100 Wanted Cases to Be Transferred to Police

Prosecution to Begin Transfer of Wanted Cases as Early as This Week

Police to Complete Applications for Arrest Warrants by the 18th

It has been confirmed that there are only about 2,100 wanted cases scheduled to be transferred to the police ahead of the abolition of the prosecution. While there were concerns that a flood of tens of thousands of cases would be dumped on frontline police, thereby increasing the investigative burden, it turns out that the number of cases to be transferred at once is less than expected.

Seodaemun-gu Police Agency, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

According to a comprehensive review by The Asia Business Daily on September 8, the prosecution plans to begin transferring wanted cases from district and branch prosecutor’s offices to the police as early as this week, based on where the crime occurred or where the suspect resides. The total number nationwide is estimated at around 2,100 cases. The police plan to receive the cases by the 18th and apply for new arrest warrants.

Currently, there are approximately 750,000 wanted (A-grade) and notification (C-grade) cases recorded at the prosecution, stemming from cases where the prosecution was suspended or witnessing was halted. A wanted notification is issued for suspects with arrest warrants who cannot be located, while a wanted notice is a measure to summon suspects of relatively minor offenses who have not responded to investigative summons or whose whereabouts are unclear. While the disclosure of the total number of these cases prompted concerns over massive transfers, only wanted cases for which the prosecution itself applied for arrest warrants will be handed over to the police. If simply divided among the 261 police stations nationwide, there would be fewer than 10 cases per station.

From October, after the revised Criminal Procedure Act takes effect, the prosecution will, in principle, no longer be able to secure custody of suspects in wanted cases for which it applied for arrest warrants. In cases where the police previously applied for a warrant and prosecution was suspended, the police will continue the investigation if the suspect is found and the case is reopened. For wanted notices, since suspects are not forcibly detained, these cases will continue to be managed by the prosecution service. A prosecution official stated, "The aim is to finalize as many cases as possible at the prosecution. Any cases that remain will be individually transferred to the prosecution service if and when grounds for reopening arise."

Once the transfer of wanted cases is complete by September 18, the National Police Agency plans to review whether to leave complex or significant cases with the respective precincts or have them managed directly by the regional police agencies. The agency is also considering the risk of workload imbalances that could arise if cases are simply distributed based on location alone.

After the establishment of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, there is a possibility that some cases will be transferred back depending on the type or scale of the crime. A police official commented, "No decisions have been made regarding the transfer of cases to the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency," but added, "We believe that specific case-handling guidelines can be discussed once the agency is officially established."

Despite these changes, there are ongoing concerns that the overall investigative burden on the police could become heavier. A significant number of unsolved cases currently held by the prosecution will also be transferred, and with the removal of supplementary investigations directly handled by prosecutors, all additional tasks such as securing further evidence or supplementing victim statements will now fall entirely on the police. Last year, police handled as many as 3.22 million cases. The number of cases registered as unsolved because they could not be resolved internally stood at 220,241.

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