As the launch of the Prosecutor's Office and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency approaches in October, the Corruption Investigation Agency has submitted a proposal to the National Assembly advocating for the establishment of a new procedure for 'additional investigation requests' instead of relying on prosecutors' requests for supplementary investigations. The agency also suggested that senior officials from the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency be included in the scope of its investigations and called for reforms regarding the treatment and term limits of its investigators.
On July 28, during a regular briefing held at the Government Complex in Gwacheon, the Corruption Investigation Agency announced that it submitted its proposed amendments to the Corruption Investigation Agency Act to the National Assembly's Legislative and Judiciary Committee on July 25.
The proposed amendments include approximately 40 provisions related to investigation procedures, such as emergency arrests, detention periods, review of arrests and detentions, search and seizure, and summons requirements.
The agency has previously expressed the need for special provisions regarding the scope and procedures of investigations conducted by its prosecutors under the Criminal Procedure Act. This time, it aims to explicitly state these provisions in the Corruption Investigation Agency Act to reduce interpretative disputes and practical confusion among investigative bodies.
In particular, the agency emphasized the necessity of establishing a separate procedure for prosecutors to request additional investigations when they deem it necessary for cases initiated by the Corruption Investigation Agency.
If a prosecutor sends an additional investigation request along with relevant documents and evidence to the Corruption Investigation Agency, the agency's investigators would then conduct the follow-up investigation.
A spokesperson for the Corruption Investigation Agency explained, "The term 'supplementary investigation request' is used between prosecutors and judicial police officers, and applying it directly between prosecutors and Corruption Investigation Agency investigators is not systemically appropriate."
The spokesperson added, "There has been confusion due to the lack of discussion on procedures for additional investigations after the Corruption Investigation Agency has requested prosecution. We propose to establish a procedure for additional investigation requests in the Corruption Investigation Agency Act to clarify the relationship between the Prosecutor's Office and the Corruption Investigation Agency and eliminate confusion."
The agency also submitted its opinions on the revision of the Corruption Investigation Agency Act to the Office for Government Policy Coordination regarding the launch of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency the previous day.
Under the current Corruption Investigation Agency Act, senior officials from the Board of Audit and Inspection, the National Tax Service, and the Fair Trade Commission are included in the definition of high-ranking officials. However, there are no provisions regarding senior officials from the newly established Serious Crimes Investigation Agency.
In response, the Corruption Investigation Agency argued that senior officials from the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency should also be included in the scope of high-ranking officials subject to its investigations.
A representative from the agency stated, "As a newly established organization, there are currently no provisions regarding officials from the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency in the existing law. Like other major national agencies, senior officials from the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency should also be subject to investigations by the Corruption Investigation Agency."
The agency also proposed changing relevant provisions to ensure that the treatment of its investigators is comparable to that of investigators from the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, rather than those from the Prosecutor's Office.
The current Corruption Investigation Agency Act stipulates that the treatment of its investigators should be equivalent to that of Prosecutor's Office officials. However, as investigative duties are being transferred to the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency under the separation of investigation and prosecution, the agency argues that the treatment system should be redesigned based on actual duties and authority.
A representative from the agency remarked, "Currently, Corruption Investigation Agency investigators receive treatment equivalent to that of Prosecutor's Office officials, which is based on a system where prosecutors handle both investigation and prosecution. It is more appropriate to determine treatment based on the authority and responsibilities associated with the work performed rather than on status."
The Corruption Investigation Agency also believes that the six-year term limit for its investigators should be abolished, arguing that it is unfair to impose term limits only on its investigators when there are no such restrictions for officials from other investigative agencies like the police or the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency.
Meanwhile, the Corruption Investigation Agency stated that it is in the early stages of its investigation into allegations of perjury in relation to the shooting incident involving a public official in the West Sea, which included searches of the main office of the Korea Coast Guard and the Incheon Coast Guard on July 16. It noted that it has not conducted any recent summons investigations related to the alcohol bribery allegations involving Judge Ji Gwi-yeon. Regarding the controversy over personnel dispatch conflicts with the Special Investigation Team for the deceased Marine, the agency mentioned, "We have not made any specific additional requests."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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