Since the Enforcement of the Revised Prosecutor's Office Act and Criminal Procedure Act, Police Referred Cases Plummet... Only 78.1% Compared to January-March Last Year

Continuous Increase in the Number of Prosecutors' Requests for Supplementary and Reinvestigation of Police Cases

Status of police non-prosecution referral records by type. / Provided by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] It has been revealed that the number of cases sent from the police to the prosecution has significantly decreased since the enforcement of the amended Prosecutors' Office Act and the amended Criminal Procedure Act, which include adjustments to the investigative authority between the prosecution and the police.

It is analyzed that the number of cases handled by the police decreased during the initial period of adapting to the changed system after the enforcement of the amended laws.

According to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office on the 22nd, during the three months since January 1 of this year, when the amended Prosecutors' Office Act, which drastically reduced the scope of direct investigations by the prosecution, and the amended Criminal Procedure Act, which stipulates the prosecution's rights to request supplementary investigations and reinvestigations, were enforced, the net number of cases sent and referred by the police decreased to 78.1% compared to the same period last year.

The "net number of cases sent and referred" is calculated by adding the number of cases sent by the police to the prosecution, cases judged as no charges and thus not sent, and cases where investigations were suspended due to suspension of prosecution, then subtracting the number of cases resent after supplementary investigations by the prosecution and cases resent to the prosecution following objections by the parties, to avoid double counting.

The police's "net number of cases sent and referred" sharply dropped to 58.7% (60,410 cases) in January compared to the same period last year, then gradually recovered to 65.7% (128,399 cases in February) and 78.1% (227,241 cases in March).

During the three months, the number of cases prosecuted by the prosecution after being sent from the police was about 65,000, also a 73.6% decrease compared to the same period last year.

On the other hand, the number of supplementary investigation requests from the prosecution to the police has significantly increased, with 2,923 cases in January, 5,206 in February, and 6,839 in March. The number of reinvestigation requests by the prosecution, which occur when the police's decision not to prosecute is deemed illegal or unjust, is also on the rise, with 559 cases in January, 916 in February, and 1,377 in March.

Compared to last year's 143,884 cases sent to the prosecution by the police with a non-prosecution opinion, the number of cases referred without prosecution this year (123,661 cases) has decreased.

Looking at the types of police referral records, the proportion of "dismissal" orders nearly doubled from 12.5% to 22.1%, while the proportion of "no prosecution authority" orders decreased from 44.0% to 34.9%. It is analyzed that relatively simple cases are being prioritized over complex cases at the police level.

Meanwhile, as the prosecution's direct investigation targets have decreased following the adjustment of investigative authority, the number of complaints and accusations received by the prosecution in the first quarter was 7,695 cases, a 68.5% decrease compared to 24,447 cases in the same period last year.

A prosecution official stated, "Although some confusion in practical work between the prosecution and police is inevitable due to the comprehensive restructuring of the criminal justice system, the prosecution and police have coordinated detailed issues through more than 10 ad hoc practical councils," adding, "We will make every effort to stabilize the system according to the amended criminal laws through future practical councils and, if necessary, investigative agency councils."