Supreme Prosecutors' Office Reviews Case Handling Plans Ahead of Abolishing Prosecutors' Offices... Nationwide Deputy Chief Prosecutors' Video Conference

18 District and 10 Branch Prosecutors' Offices Participate Nationwide

Case Handling Plans Reviewed Over Two Days

Standards Checked: "Pre-Enforcement Processing, 90-Day Grace, Transfers"

Supreme Prosecutors' Office: "Preparedness to Prevent Any Work Disruptions"

With the abolition of prosecutorial investigative powers and the launch of the Public Prosecutor's Office scheduled for October 2, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office has begun reviewing nationwide case handling plans and collecting feedback from local prosecutors' offices.

On July 1, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office building in Seocho-gu, Seoul, seen through a sculpture at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, appears distorted as Shim Woo-jung, Prosecutor General, expressed his intention to resign after only nine months in office. The Special Investigation for Internal Affairs plans to investigate Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung for abuse of power and other charges after he immediately withdrew the appeal following the cancellation of former President Yoon Seok-yeol's detention. 2025.07.01 Photo by Yoon Dongju

On the 7th, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office announced that it had held a 'nationwide deputy chief prosecutor video conference' to disseminate the newly established case handling strategies and departmental plans to local offices. The meeting is being held over two days, concluding on the 8th.

The meeting included the Planning and Coordination Office, Anti-Corruption Division, Criminal Affairs Division, Narcotics and Organized Crime Division, Public Investigation Division, Forensic Science Division, Criminal Policy Office, as well as 18 district prosecutors’ offices and 10 branch prosecutors’ offices from across the country.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office stated that it will continue to communicate closely to ensure that feedback provided by local offices during the meeting can be reflected in future case handling processes.

Previously, on the 3rd, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office provided local offices with new guidelines dividing ongoing prosecutorial investigations into three groups: cases to be processed before October 2; cases to be handled within a 90-day grace period; and cases that inevitably need to be transferred. Among the inevitable transfers, cases are further categorized as to be sent either to the police or to the Serious Crime Investigation Agency (SCIA), with the SCIA taking priority for cases under its jurisdiction.

For cases where indictment has been suspended with a suspect on a nationwide wanted list due to a prosecutor-initiated arrest warrant, the guidelines direct prosecutors to return the original warrant and cancel the wanted notice prior to the enforcement of the Public Prosecutor’s Office Act, then transfer the case to the police or special judicial police. This is to prevent situations after the launch of the Public Prosecutor's Office where a prosecutor can no longer directly investigate a suspect who is arrested on an old warrant and would have to release them immediately. Detailed criteria were also put in place for transferring ongoing internal investigations launched from prosecutorial intelligence: if further investigation is necessary, these cases must be transferred to another investigative agency with approval from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office stated, "We will thoroughly and proactively prepare for a variety of scenarios during the launch of the Public Prosecutor's Office to ensure there is no interruption in our work."

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