"Investigation and Prosecution Are Ultimately One Entity" Yoon Seok-yeol Expresses Opposite View to Chu Mi-ae

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] After Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae announced plans to separate investigation and prosecution within the prosecution service, controversy has arisen. During his visit to Busan, Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol effectively expressed opposing views, drawing attention to his future actions.

According to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office on the 16th, Prosecutor General Yoon visited the Busan District Prosecutors' Office on the 13th and held a closed-door meeting with frontline prosecutors, where he clearly stated his views, saying, "Investigation is a process of preparing for criminal litigation, so investigation serves prosecution," and emphasized, "Investigation and prosecution inevitably become one entity."

Regarding the identity of prosecutors, Yoon said, "Prosecutors, as holders of the right to prosecute, conduct administrative, national, civil, and criminal litigation on behalf of the state and government," adding, "Unlike lawyers, the prosecution's client is the people, so prosecutors must independently decide whether to file a lawsuit, how to conduct it, and whether to appeal, all for the benefit of the state and government." Accordingly, he emphasized that investigation is "a concept serving prosecution because it is a process of preparing for criminal litigation."

Yoon acknowledged that due to judicial reforms pursued from the Roh Moo-hyun administration to recently, the 'trial system' is shifting from relying on written records to being trial-centered, and the prosecution itself has failed to properly follow this trend, making it inevitable that existing investigation methods must change.

However, he also stated, "In serious cases where the prosecutor directly investigates, the prosecutor must personally review the case, and it is somewhat natural that the person preparing the litigation and maintaining the prosecution in court decides whether to prosecute."

Furthermore, reflecting changes in the trial system, he viewed that "investigation and prosecution inevitably become one entity," and said, "Even when prosecutors supplement cases referred by the police, it has become difficult to maintain prosecution without closely communicating with the police, questioning judicial police officers about the circumstances under which statements were made and physical evidence was obtained."

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office explained that regarding Prosecutor General Yoon's views, "Since his time as head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, based on his experience in prosecutorial work, he has emphasized the importance of the courtroom with statements such as 'the prosecutor's battlefield is not the interrogation room but the courtroom,' 'the courtroom is the office,' and 'the person prosecuting must handle cases with perfect conviction.' He reiterated this during his encouragement visit to Busan."

Earlier, Minister Choo proposed separating the subjects of investigation and prosecution within the prosecution service and planned to convene a meeting on the 21st at the Government Complex Gwacheon, gathering all district prosecutors. Minister Choo explained that by appointing separate prosecutors for investigation and for reviewing investigation results and handling prosecution, they aim to prevent unilateral decisions or errors by investigating prosecutors in advance. This stance clearly differs from the views Prosecutor General Yoon conveyed to prosecutors in Busan. Yoon emphasized that under our judicial system, investigation and prosecution cannot be separated and are rather concepts on a continuum. This view has drawn more attention as Yoon reportedly decided not to attend the prosecutors' meeting hosted by the Ministry of Justice, seemingly expressing discomfort. For now, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office stated regarding these perspectives, "During the meeting, the Prosecutor General did not mention the Ministry of Justice's policy on separating investigation and prosecution."