[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office has established a system in which prosecutors directly interview suspects before deciding whether to approve pre-arrest warrants requested by the police. This measure aims to guarantee the suspects' right to defense and strengthen oversight of police investigations.
On the 1st, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office announced that since the 26th of last month, in accordance with Article 77 of the Prosecutorial Case Handling Rules, Article 22 of the Human Rights Protection Investigation Rules, and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office directive titled "Guidelines on Procedures such as Suspect Interviews before Requesting Arrest Warrants," prosecutors have been summoning and directly interviewing suspects when the police request pre-arrest warrants.
Until now, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office judged whether to request warrants based on investigation records and only summoned suspects for questioning when necessary. However, from now on, suspects for whom warrants are requested will be interviewed directly. Suspects who have difficulty appearing in person due to illness or other reasons will be interviewed via phone or video call.
The interview process also guarantees the participation rights and opportunity to present opinions of defense attorneys. The Korean Bar Association and the Seoul Bar Association have been officially notified of this fact. Police officers who requested the arrest warrants may also express their opinions.
With the implementation of this system, prosecutors belonging to the 'Human Rights Protection Department,' which is in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, and those in departments under the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Deputy Chief Prosecutors that review police arrest warrants for specialized cases, will directly interview suspects who have had pre-arrest warrants requested by the police in the 'Arrest Warrant Interview and Investigation Room.' Since the system's implementation on the 26th of last month, all four suspects involved in four cases where pre-arrest warrants were requested have been directly interviewed.
A representative of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office stated, "Through the prosecutorial interview system, we can guarantee the defense rights of suspects and their attorneys and carefully review the necessity of requesting warrants, thereby preventing unjust detention in advance."
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