South Korea's criminal justice reform strips prosecutors of investigative powers
By Wooyoung Lee ( August 3, 2026, 08:58 GMT | Insight) -- South Korea’s National Assembly has approved legislation separating criminal investigation from prosecution, stripping prosecutors of their authority to directly investigate serious crimes and leaving them primarily responsible for deciding whether to bring charges. The legislation completes a prosecutorial overhaul that began in 2021 and is intended to transfer investigative powers to judicial police officers while creating separate bodies for investigation and prosecution.South Korea’s criminal justice system is set for a sweeping overhaul after the National Assembly approved legislation separating criminal investigation from prosecution, stripping prosecutors of their authority to directly investigate serious crimes and leaving them primarily responsible for deciding whether to bring charges....
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