51 Days Before Prosecution Investigative Power Abolition, 134 Follow-up Bills Await Revision

Starting Point for a Major Shift in Criminal Justice Ahead of Investigative Power Abolition

The criminal justice system of the Republic of Korea has entered a historic turning point with the passage of a revised Criminal Procedure Act that completely abolishes the prosecution's direct and supplementary investigative powers. However, the implementation date of October 2 presents a massive challenge for the National Assembly and the administration. To realize the intent of the revised law in the field, an overhaul of the entire existing legal system is essential, yet 134 follow-up legislative tasks remain. With a deadline of 51 days remaining, political circles and the legal community are staking their all on processing these follow-up bills.

The Challenge of Rectifying 134 Follow-up Bills

The core change is that prosecutors will no longer play a supplementary role to police investigations or investigate crimes directly. To support this legally, individual laws explicitly granting investigative powers to prosecutors must be uniformly revised. There are a staggering 134 follow-up bills that absolutely must be amended to align with the revised Criminal Procedure Act.

Given the structural changes in the criminal justice system, the swift processing of follow-up bills appears to be a necessity, not an option. The impact is expected to be particularly distinct in special crime sectors directly linked to the economy and capital markets. In the past, prosecutors directly intervened and led investigations into financial fraud or corporate crimes, but moving forward, the police will conclude all investigations, and prosecutors will exercise only the power to indict. Consequently, there are concerns that the efficiency of economic crime investigations, which require extensive evidence collection and rapid fund tracing, may decline. Therefore, the investigative subjects and procedures stipulated in the existing 134 laws must be comprehensively readjusted to a police-centered model to minimize legal voids.

Legal Voids and Political Conflict Due to Legislative Delay

If legislative delays become a reality, confusion in the field seems inevitable. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office is already piloting the application of the revised law's intent before the transition of indictment authority to mitigate such institutional shock. It is testing pre-detention warrant interview systems and fact-verification systems within the framework of current laws and institutions to check practical response capabilities. However, this is merely a stopgap measure, not a fundamental solution.

Bridging the gap between political stances is another challenge. The opposition People Power Party is strongly opposing the revision, which abolishes direct and supplementary investigative powers, by filing a constitutional complaint with the Constitutional Court. They define the legislation as a unconstitutional measure that dismantles the criminal justice system and continue their legal resistance. In contrast, the ruling party emphasizes that the transition to a police-monopolized investigation system is an essential reform to prevent monopoly by power agencies. This political deadlock is a key factor making it difficult to reach a swift agreement on follow-up bills ahead of the October 2 deadline.

Stabilization of the Legal System and Outlook for Legislative Schedule

To eliminate uncertainty for the market and industry, follow-up bills must be finalized before implementation in October. For investors and businesses, changes in criminal investigation procedures directly translate to institutional risks in economic activity. If related laws are not rectified in time, the capability to respond to economic crimes could weaken, potentially causing setbacks in preventing capital outflows and market disruption.

The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee and relevant standing committees are expected to actively consider bundling the 134 bills into a single package for rapid processing during the remaining session. Given the sharp conflict between the ruling and opposition parties, the National Assembly will likely need to derive a compromise on key contentious bills through an extraordinary session by mid-September. If agreement is not reached until the end, the possibility of adopting exceptional legislative techniques, such as provisional measures that temporarily stipulate police investigative authority, cannot be ruled out. For the fundamental reform of the criminal justice system to be complete, the 134 follow-up measures must be organically combined, going beyond the mere passage of the law.