A day before the major transformation of the criminal justice system, the prosecutor's office in charge of Gwangju, South Jeolla Province looked quiet on the outside, but was busy on the inside, marking the 'last day' of the prosecution's 78-year history.
The Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, which will be newly launched as the Gwangju District Public Prosecution Office on the 2nd, has been busy since the morning of the day due to changes in positions and office reorganization.
All personnel belonging to the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, including prosecutors and investigators, except those who transferred or resigned from the Serious Crimes Investigation Office, will remain at the Gwangju District Public Prosecution Office.
The same goes for the Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office, which is reorganized into the Gwangju Metropolitan Public Prosecution Office and has jurisdiction over not only Gwangju, Jeonnam, but also Jeju and Jeonbuk.
According to the local legal community, in the case of the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, there are one to two prosecutors and about 50 investigators who are moving to the Central Investigation Office.
In order to immediately fill vacancies resulting from transfers from the Central Investigation Agency, personnel from branches such as Suncheon and Mokpo are expected to move to the Gwangju Public Prosecution Office, which is currently the Gwangju Prosecutor's Office.
The first heads of the Gwangju Metropolitan Public Prosecution Office and the Regional Public Prosecution Office will remain in office without any vacancies.
It is reported that the organizational reorganization following the launch of the Public Prosecution Office will be carried out after the grace period for supplementary investigations, which is a total of 90 days, ends.
The Gwangju Public Prosecution Office plans to complete its own investigation during this grace period and classify cases to be handed over to the Central Investigation Office or returned to the police.
An official from the prosecution, who welcomed the 'finish' and 'beginning' at the same time, said, "There are no conditions in place to inform the media of the position, personnel, and case status of the launch of the Public Prosecution Office. Please understand."
The Gwangju Regional Central Investigation Office, which will take over the prosecution's direct investigation function and be in charge of investigating serious crimes, is also busy with just one day left until its 'departure'.
The Gwangju Heavy Water Complex, located in Jungheung-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju, Jeollanam-do, is in the midst of final preparations for opening.
The inside and outside of the building was still cluttered with workers constantly moving monitors and other electronic devices into the office.
Basic office equipment such as desks, chairs, and partitions have been installed to some extent, and the installation of work PCs in the office space on the first floor of the building where investigators will work has been completed.
The installation of the ‘Gwangju Regional Serious Crime Investigation Office’ sign and plaque on the exterior wall of the building has been completed.
An official from the Gwangju Heavy Water Administration said, “Employees are scheduled to come to work here from 9 a.m. tomorrow,” and added, “I don’t know if a separate opening ceremony will be held.”
The police, who are met with both anticipation and concern, are also busy preparing for the reorganization of investigative powers.
Ahead of the implementation of the revised Criminal Procedure Act, about 250 managers from the investigative departments of the Gwangju Police Agency and Jeonnam Police Agency attended the field training held by the National Police Agency headquarters on the 28th of last month to prepare for the changing system, including standards.
The next day, about 200 people from front-line departments, including criminal affairs, investigations, transportation, and women and youth, attended the training conducted by the Gwangju Police Agency and shared the major changes in the revision of the Criminal Justice Act.
Within the police organization, an atmosphere was also detected that was more focused on interests resulting from role reorganization rather than institutional changes such as the ‘abolition of prosecutors’ direct investigation rights and supplementary investigation rights.’
One police officer said, "I don't know how the relationship will be established with the Central Investigation Agency, which can either send the case to the police or take the case from the police."
Another police officer said, "It seems that the Public Prosecutor's Office's request for a supplementary investigation may have a similar effect to the prosecutor's direct investigation command in the past," and added, "The abolition of the prosecutor's direct investigation may not mean that the independence of the police investigation will increase that much."
