The South Korean Prosecutor's Office has officially withdrawn from the stage of history after 78 years of operation, and the Public Prosecution Office and the Major Crime Investigation Department were established

China News Service, October 2. South Korea’s prosecutorial system will usher in major reforms on October 2. According to Yonhap News Agency, the South Korean Public Prosecution Service and the Major Crime Investigation Service were officially established on October 2, replacing the South Korean Prosecutor’s Office which ended its last working day on October 1. The Korean Prosecutor's Office, which was established in 1948 and has been in operation for 78 years, has officially withdrawn from the stage of history.

According to reports, according to relevant legal provisions, the Public Prosecution Office is responsible for initiating and supporting public prosecutions; the Major Crime Investigation Department (hereinafter referred to as the Investigation Department) is responsible for investigating seven major crime cases, including child abuse, domestic violence, sex crimes, child sex crimes, stalking, abuse of disabled people and abuse of the elderly.

According to reports, from now on, complaints and reports will be accepted by the Police Department and the Investigation Department. Even if the Public Prosecution Office receives a complaint or report, it does not have the authority to launch an investigation. Even if the investigation by the police and the Investigation Office is not sufficient, the Public Prosecution Office cannot directly conduct a supplementary investigation and can only make relevant requests to the relevant agencies.

The report also mentioned that although the "Prosecution Office" was abolished, the titles "Procurator General" and "Prosecutor" were retained. The head of the Public Prosecution Office remains the Prosecutor General.

Yonhap News Agency pointed out that this major adjustment of the criminal justice system stems from Korean society’s long-term criticism of the excessive concentration of power of prosecutorial agencies and the resulting excessive investigation and prosecution. For a long time, whenever South Korea's regime changes, the prosecutor's office has been accused of problems such as "targeted investigation" and "political prosecution." However, some people believe that there are still doubts about whether the various agencies can cooperate smoothly under the new system. The South Korean government stated that in order to eliminate concerns, it will complete personnel arrangements as soon as possible and make every effort to promote the stable operation of the two institutions as soon as possible.