[Editorial] Rule-of-law concerns

The National Assembly last week finalized legislation to create two new bodies to replace the Prosecutors' Office established in 1948 with the founding of the South Korean government.

Eliminating the Prosecutors' Office would fundamentally reshape the criminal justice system, with direct and broad impacts on citizens' daily lives.

But the Democratic Party pushed the bills, which were worked out with the government and Cheong Wa Dae, through the National Assembly without holding a proper public hearing.

Accordingly, the Prosecutors' Office will be abolished on Oct. 2, when the Prosecution Office and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency are set to launch. The end of its 78-year run raises concerns about a potential erosion of the rule of law.

Confusion among investigative agencies could quickly emerge. The six crime categories assigned to the serious crimes investigation agency — corruption, economic crimes, defense industry-related crimes, drug offenses, insurrection and cybercrime — overlap with those of the police and, in part, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials. Fragmented investigations and the passing of cases between agencies could become widespread.

The original government bill included a provision requiring the serious crimes investigation agency to notify the prosecution office when it opened an investigation, but the party removed it during consultations with the government.

This effectively leaves the Prosecution Office with no means to check the police or the serious crimes investigation agency if they bury cases, go easy on suspects or overreach in their investigations. The public harm resulting from the removal of mechanisms to monitor and check abuses of investigative power would be severe.

It is also a serious concern that prosecutors’ authority to direct investigations by the roughly 20,000 special judicial police officers has been removed. Judicial police are public officials given police powers in specialized areas like tax, environment and food safety.

However, nearly half of all special judicial police have less than one year of experience, reportedly. Most special judicial police posts are unpopular within their ministries, and personnel rotations are frequent, making it difficult to build investigative expertise.

A substantial share of their investigations has relied on prosecutors’ direction, yet even that authority has now been scrapped.

Prosecutors were given authority to direct special judicial police because there is a clear need to check arbitrary exercises of power by administrative agencies, particularly in areas closely tied to the everyday lives of the public.

Going forward, there could be numerous instances nationwide in which they overlook illegal acts in areas affecting people’s livelihoods, or abuse their power, break the law and violate human rights.

Special judicial police officers attached to local governments are also subject to the influence of local government heads, who are elected politicians. Local government heads could effectively direct their investigations, potentially using them to disadvantage specific individuals.

The Serious Crimes Investigation Agency Act grants the Minister of the Interior and Safety the authority to direct and supervise the agency. The interior minister already oversees the police; giving him control of the serious crimes investigation agency would enable the president to influence its investigations through him.

While claiming to pursue reform because prosecutors failed to maintain investigative neutrality, the Democratic Party has in fact created a structure that would allow the government to take control of both the police and the serious crimes investigation agency.

In October last year, Min Joong-ki, the special counsel who investigated stock price manipulation allegations involving former first lady Kim Keon Hee, was reported to the police on suspicion of trading shares on undisclosed information.

In November of the same year, Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho was reported to the police in connection with prosecutors' abandonment of an appeal in the Daejang-dong development scandal case.

However, there is not even a whisper of police investigations into these cases. This may be just the start.

Concerns are mounting that the rule of law will break down under a system in which the police and the new investigation agency face no checks from prosecutors. Supplementary measures are required.