[Reporter’s Notebook] As One Special Prosecutor Ends, Another Begins... Who Handles Everyday Cases?

Personnel Shortages Under the Permanent Special Prosecutor Regime
Guaranteeing Citizens' Right to Prompt Investigations

The dictionary definition of an emergency room is a facility where patients in extremely critical and urgent condition can be treated and cared for. This means it should be used in urgent situations. You cannot, and should not, send everyone to the emergency room without considering the severity or urgency of their condition. If that were to happen, would the medical system function properly? The current state of South Korea's investigative system is no different.

Even before the aftermath of the three major special prosecutor investigations-those into the death of a Marine in the line of duty, the military rebellion of December 12, and Kim Keonhee-has faded, the political sphere has introduced new cards: the "second comprehensive special prosecutor" and the "Unification Church special prosecutor." The special prosecutor system was originally intended as a "last resort" to be used when the fairness of a prosecution investigation is in doubt. However, special prosecutors have now become a routine tool rather than an exception. The belief in the omnipotence of special prosecutors has created the bizarre reality of a "365-day permanent special prosecutor regime." The second comprehensive special prosecutor bill proposed by the Democratic Party and the Unification Church special prosecutor bill proposed by the People Power Party and the Reform Party each allow for an investigation period of up to 170 days. Including the previous six months, this means special prosecutor investigations could continue throughout the entire year.

Given the current investigative system, concentrating personnel and resources on special prosecutors also affects the daily lives of ordinary people. Over the past six months, as many as 120 prosecutors have been assigned to special prosecutor teams, causing a backlog of civil cases. According to the Ministry of Justice's "Status of Long-Term Unresolved Prosecution Cases," from the beginning of this year to the end of July, there were 22,564 unresolved cases lasting more than three months-a 23% increase from last year's 18,198 cases.

Even after a special prosecutor investigation concludes, not all dispatched prosecutors return to their original posts. For example, more than 30 prosecutors are expected to remain with the special prosecutor team for the December 12 military rebellion case to maintain the prosecution. If another large-scale exodus of personnel occurs for additional special prosecutor investigations, there are concerns that local prosecutors' offices will reach a "loss of function" stage, where they are unable to carry out even the most basic investigation and trial duties. The desperate pleas of ordinary citizens whose lives have been destroyed by rental fraud and voice phishing are being neglected in piles of paperwork at local prosecutors' offices.

The extension of the special prosecutor era increases the number of unresolved cases affecting people's livelihoods and demands the price of delayed justice. If the political world becomes obsessed with grand narratives and partisan strife, wielding the blade of special prosecutors, and as a result, the minimum public safety services the state should provide are shaken, who will suffer? Can we allow ordinary citizens to be left unprotected? True justice does not exist under the dazzling spotlight. Only when the national investigative system functions properly can citizens receive the protection they deserve. The state's real duty is to restore the right to "prompt investigation" for those who lie awake at night, not knowing when their cases will be resolved.