Prosecutors' Office Closed After 78 Years... Investigation and Prosecution Split in Two

With the amended Public Prosecution Office Act and related laws taking effect on the 2nd, the Prosecutors' Office, which has exercised both investigative and prosecutorial powers for 78 years, is being abolished, ushering in a new criminal justice system in which the Serious Crime Investigation Office (Jungsucheong) handles criminal investigations while the Public Prosecution Office (Gongsocheong) handles cases sent to trial. According to the legal community on the 27th, the amended Public Prosecution Office Act, the Serious Crime Investigation Office Act, the Criminal Procedure Act, and the Government Organization Act all take effect together, closing the doors of the Prosecutors' Office after 78 years since it opened in 1948.

The Prosecutors' Office has long held sole authority over criminal investigations, directing police investigations, requesting warrants, indicting suspects, and maintaining prosecutions. The newly launched Public Prosecution Office will handle warrant requests, indictment and trial prosecution, and requests for supplementary investigations.

The Public Prosecution Office will carry out the duties of prosecutors as defined by the Constitution, headed by the Prosecutor General, a position explicitly stipulated in the Constitution. The Public Prosecution Office Act sets the Prosecutor General's term at two years, with no reappointment allowed.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office formed a preparation task force for the launch of the Public Prosecution Office in May, working on organizational structure and staffing as well as checks of the Criminal Justice Information System (KICS). From the 18th of last month to the 11th of this month, it tested the Public Prosecution Office operating model at four locations: the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office and the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office's Western Branch, Masan Branch, and Nonsan Branch.

The staffing plan for Public Prosecution Office prosecutors, set by the Ministry of Justice at around 1,900, or 80 to 85 percent of the figure under the Public Prosecutor Personnel Act, was finalized through legislative pre-notification and approval by the State Council. This came after President Lee Jae-myung ordered revisions to an earlier plan that would have cut the total workforce by about 21 percent, from roughly 10,700 to 8,400, while keeping the number of prosecutors at the current 2,292.

Having completed these procedures, the two agencies open their doors on the 2nd.