[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] The Supreme Prosecutors' Office is set to expedite the handling of complaints and accusations that do not require the initiation of investigations. This move aims to reduce the waste of investigative resources caused by the abuse of complaints and accusations, and an objective verification process involving human rights officers and the Prosecutors' Citizen Committee will also be established.
On the 4th, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office announced that it has established the "Guidelines for the Expedited Handling of Complaints and Accusations Subject to Dismissal," which quickly decide whether to initiate investigations based on complaints and accusations grounded in media reports, SNS, or internet posts, and will implement them starting from the 5th.
According to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, the number of complaints and accusations increased by about 58,000 over the past five years, from 685,301 cases in 2016 to 743,290 cases in 2020. Additionally, about 20% of these cases are dismissed annually on average. This has caused unnecessary social disputes and controversies due to the abuse of complaints and accusations. In particular, issues such as human rights violations of the accused, waste of investigative resources, and increased social costs have been continuously raised.
Accordingly, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office decided to quickly determine whether to initiate investigations after checking for delays in case handling by human rights officers and deliberations by the Prosecutors' Citizen Committee, which is composed of external members. Through these guidelines, it is expected that wrongfully accused individuals will be quickly freed from investigative procedures.
A representative from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office stated, "Through objective verification by human rights officers and the Prosecutors' Citizen Committee, concerns about protecting insiders will be dispelled, and cases will be handled more fairly. We also expect that focused and selective investigations and case handling will effectively respond to criminal investigations that the public needs."
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