The Korean government has introduced a landmark reform separating investigation and indictment powers, transferring the prosecution’s direct investigation authority to the newly established Major Criminal Investigation Agency (MCIA). Prosecutors will now focus solely on indictment and maintenance, while the MCIA will handle nine major crime categories, including corruption, economic crimes, public officials, elections, defense projects, major disasters, narcotics, national security, and cybercrime. The Prosecutorial Reform Task Force announced that the Prosecution Office Act and MCIA Act, necessary for the operation of these agencies, will be open for public comment from June 12 to 26, ahead of their October launch. This reform aims to prevent abuse of investigative powers and strengthen political neutrality.
The Prosecution Office Act removes investigation and initiation of investigation from prosecutors’ duties, clearly defining their role as indictment and maintenance. Measures to enhance accountability include establishing case review committees, increasing the proportion of external members in qualification review committees, and reflecting appeal and acquittal rates in performance evaluations. New regulations criminalize political involvement by prosecutors, with penalties of up to five years imprisonment and disqualification. The MCIA Act separates investigation and indictment functions and ensures no gaps in national response to major crimes.
The MCIA can investigate not only the nine major crimes but also offenses committed by officials of the Prosecution Office or other investigative agencies, as well as cases referred under specific laws. Its dual personnel structure—investigative judicial officers and specialized investigators—ensures expertise and flexibility, allowing career progression between roles. The MCIA is open to experts from various fields, including police, enhancing investigative capacity. Regulations allow the MCIA to request or transfer cases to minimize confusion when investigative overlaps occur.
The Minister of the Interior and Safety has general supervisory authority over the MCIA, but can only direct the MCIA chief in specific cases, safeguarding political neutrality. Yoon Chang-ryul, head of the reform task force, pledged swift legislation and thorough follow-up measures, including organizational, personnel, and system development, as well as amendments to related criminal procedure laws. This reform is expected to protect citizens’ rights, prevent abuse of power, and restore public trust. Specific crime categories will be further defined by presidential decree.
This prosecutorial reform structurally blocks abuse of power by clearly separating investigation and indictment, while enhancing accountability and political neutrality. The establishment of the MCIA and its flexible personnel system boosts national capacity to tackle complex crimes, leveraging expertise from diverse fields. From an AI perspective, these changes support data-driven decision-making and transparent processes, and are likely to strengthen digital investigation and cybercrime response capabilities in the future.