Chief Prosecutor Kwon Soonjung: "Separation of Investigation and Indictment Could Be Like Bringing in a Trojan Horse"

"If Unlimited Prosecutorial Investigations Are Conducted Through the Special Prosecutor Law, Institutional Reforms Become Meaningless"

Yonhap News Agency

A current high-ranking prosecutor, the chief prosecutor of a high prosecutors' office, posted a message on the prosecution's internal network criticizing the government's and ruling party's plan to separate prosecutorial investigation and indictment powers.

On June 23, Kwon Soonjung (29th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute), Chief Prosecutor of the Suwon High Prosecutors' Office, posted an article titled "Let's Envision the Future of the Prosecution" on the prosecution's internal network, "Epros." In the article, Chief Prosecutor Kwon stated, "This could be tantamount to introducing a 'Trojan Horse' that would bring down the entire criminal justice system at once."

He said, "The argument for separating investigation and indictment may sound plausible at first glance, but the concept is ambiguous and its origins are unclear, making it difficult to find relevant international examples. We must thoroughly examine what the separation of investigation and indictment actually means and clearly define its significance," he added.

Chief Prosecutor Kwon acknowledged, "It is true that many citizens are concerned about the prosecution's broad direct investigative powers," and stated, "If the separation of investigation and indictment means restricting the prosecution's ability to initiate direct investigations, I would welcome a more forward-looking and constructive discussion on the matter."

He went on to say, "If the ruling party passes a special prosecutor law to conduct unlimited prosecutorial investigations on issues used to attack political opponents, such institutional reforms would become meaningless." He added, "We must seriously consider ensuring that prosecutorial investigations, when combined with the special prosecutor system, do not devolve into a tool for the powerful legislative branch to engage in 'double standards' attacks."

Chief Prosecutor Kwon pointed out, "If the separation of investigation and indictment means completely prohibiting prosecutors from conducting investigations, that undermines the very essence of the 'prosecution' function. No civilized country prevents the agency that decides on prosecution from establishing the facts." He continued, "Just as a judge must ascertain the facts to render a verdict, a prosecutor must conduct investigations to decide whether to prosecute. Investigation is an indispensable function for prosecution," he added.

Chief Prosecutor Kwon also emphasized, "In the novel '1984,' there is a scene where all social problems are blamed on a single person named Goldstein. We must not fall into the 'Goldstein scapegoating' trap of conveniently blaming the prosecution for every problem." Chief Prosecutor Kwon is recognized as a leading strategist, having served as Director of the Legal Affairs Division at the Ministry of Justice, Director of the Prosecution Division, spokesperson for the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, Chief of Staff at the Ministry of Justice, and Director of the Prosecution Bureau.