Former Prosecutor Yun Woong-geol, who took office as the Jeonju District Prosecutor’s Office in June 2018. News 1
“Korea copied from China, where only the ruling power is advantageous”
“Separation of the right of investigation and prosecution means that those in power should not be punished for any wrongdoing.”
Jeonju District Prosecutor General Yun, “I copied the Chinese Islands”
In an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo on the 11th, Yoon Woong-geol (55, 21st Judicial Research and Training Institute) attorney at the Law Firm Pyeongsan, who served as the Chief Prosecutor’s Office of Planning and Coordination, and the Jeju District Prosecutors’ Office and Jeonju District Prosecutors’ Office, said. He said earlier, when President Moon Jae-in received a business report from the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Public Administration and Security on the 8th, “Separation of the right to prosecute and investigate for the protection of checks and balances and human rights is the direction that we must continue to move forward.” At the time, President Moon said, “Through the reform of the investigative powers and the launch of the airlift, we have taken a big step in reforming power institutions, but it has not been completed.”
Prosecutor Yun Jeon said on the day that “China is a country where investigation and prosecution are completely separated,” and “Instead of abolishing the investigation command right of the prosecutor, the right to request supplemental investigation was introduced. “The set of bells is just the Chinese way.” He said, “It is a sophistry to say that “the judicial system follows the Chinese style, and that the result we are aiming for is the Western-developed country style,” he said. “The guarantee of the people’s freedom and human rights, and the check and balance of power are the conclusions of the judicial system of developed countries in the West.”
![President Moon Jae-in is speaking at the report of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Public Administration and Security held at the Blue House on the afternoon of the 8th. [청와대사진기자단]](https://i0.wp.com/pds.joins.com/news/component/htmlphoto_mmdata/202103/11/4e1e0b8d-8e70-4e76-870c-ac8c9b2adc4e.jpg?w=560&ssl=1)
President Moon Jae-in is speaking at the report of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Public Administration and Security held at the Blue House on the afternoon of the 8th. [청와대사진기자단]
He said that the ruling party’s “completion of prosecution (complete deprivation of prosecutors’ right to investigate)” is a global trend. He said, “That’s the Chinese style,” and “If you see China as the center of the world, it’s true.” He said, “Please do not say that other countries have the power to investigate the prosecution against what the lawmakers have heard from, but it would be nice to look at the original text of the criminal procedure law of developed countries in the West.”
Yoon, former prosecutor, who left the prosecutor’s office in July 2019, was evaluated as “breaking the prosecution’s investigation practices that pressurize the suspects, such as setting up a photo line, spilling suspects, and filling in handcuffs.” In November 2018 and June 2019, he insisted, “Let’s return to a’head without arms’ by focusing on direct investigation instead of direct investigation, which is difficult for prosecutors to secure objectivity,” through the prosecution’s internal network’Eprus’.
![Cho Kook, Chu Mi-ae, Park Beom-gye, Minister of Justice. [연합뉴스]](https://i0.wp.com/pds.joins.com/news/component/htmlphoto_mmdata/202103/11/5cf6131b-a035-41a1-8a7f-19b3bbaaaf62.jpg?w=560&ssl=1)
Cho Kook, Chu Mi-ae, Park Beom-gye, Minister of Justice. [연합뉴스]
The following is one question and one answer with former Prosecutor Yun.
- There is a controversy over the separation of the prosecution’s right to investigate and prosecute.
- The point is that we have to go to a judicially developed country. In advanced judicial countries, people’s freedom and human rights are guaranteed by the judicial system, and underdeveloped countries are countries where freedom and human rights are suppressed by the judicial system.
- Please be specific.
- Globally, countries with advanced human rights are concentrated in Europe. It would be nice to compare European countries and China. Our legal system basically came from Europe. In Europe, in order to guarantee human rights, jurisdiction and prosecution have been separated, but prosecution and investigation have not. Rather, it is going toward fusion.
Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol resigns from the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 4th and leaves the prosecutor’s office to give a greeting. yunhap news
- I mentioned the Chinese judicial system.
- China is a country where investigation and prosecution are completely separated. In the criminal procedure law of advanced judicial countries,’investigation is conducted by prosecutors. The basic format is that the police investigate under the command or commission of the prosecutor’s office. China’s criminal procedure law states that’investigation is conducted by the public security (the police)’. The right to prosecute is exercised by the prosecution (people’s prosecutors’ office). Prosecutors investigate only a small number of crimes such as corruption crimes of public officials. Even this, too, has recently become ineffective due to the Chinese Air Defense Agency (National Supervisory Commission). They commit corruption crimes there. The Chinese Air Defense Agency only investigates without the right to prosecute, and only the prosecution is conducted by the People’s Prosecutors Office. In the end, only the ruling power is advantageous.
On May 20, last year, at the 21st National Assembly first elected member’s meeting held in the Grand Auditorium of the National Assembly’s Constitutional Hall, Democratic Party-elect Hwang Unha (right) and Open Democratic Party-elect Choi Kang-wook are in conversation. On the 9th of last month, the’Law on the Installation and Operation of the Severe Crime Investigation Office’ was launched on the 9th of last month. news
- Former Justice Minister Cho Kook said, “There is no gap in the total amount of investigations, as it is only necessary to move the investigative personnel from the existing Prosecutors Office to the Severe Crime Investigation Office.”
- Although prosecutors in advanced Western countries have the authority to investigate directly, they rarely investigate directly except for very important cases and focus on conducting investigations against the judicial police. Seeing such a phenomenon, it makes no sense to say that you do not have the right to investigate. Whether the police have the right to investigate or the prosecutor has the right to investigate, the starting line is completely different.
- When the police exercise their power of investigation, they see the power of investigation as administrative power. This means that political power can dominate the investigation. Depending on the country, prosecutors may belong to the judiciary or the executive branch. All countries in which the prosecutor belongs to the executive branch are also quasi-judicial institutions.
Kim Jin-wook, head of the High-ranking Public Officials Crime Investigation Department (KPA), arrived at the Migeun-dong Police Office in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul on the 23rd of last month to prevent police chief Kim Chang-ryong and is receiving questions from reporters. News 1
- Couldn’t the police check the power?
- In the history of the separation of powers, the police are administrative officials. How do those who have to follow the order of the administration keep their powers in check? This is not to say that the prosecution’s qualities and skills are better than the police. The reason that advanced Western countries gave prosecutors the power of investigation and command of investigation was to put weight on the effectiveness of combating crime, and the separation of trial and prosecution was to prevent human rights violations.
- What is the right direction to reform the prosecution?
- The prosecutor should be a’head without arms’. The direction of the prosecution reform is to refrain from direct investigation and to concentrate on directing the investigation. Most of the 35 OECD countries recognize the prosecutor’s right to investigate and command the investigation, which is a global standard (world standard). However, the government proposal is the exact opposite. The right to command the investigation was deprived and changed to the right to request a complementary investigation.
Prosecutor General Nam-gwan Cho, deputy prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office (left) and Chief Prosecutor Kim Chang-ryong, are attending an emergency meeting of related organizations to investigate allegations of speculation in a new city held by the Korean Land and Housing Corporation (LH) employees at the Seoul Government Complex on the 10th. yunhap news
- Isn’t the right to command the investigation and the right to request complementary investigations a similar concept?
- No other country uses the name of the right to seek complementary investigations other than China. In the end, Korea copied the Chinese system. Like the prosecutors in advanced countries, our prosecutors should ensure objectivity by extremely refraining from direct investigations. In addition, it is desirable to strengthen the investigation command in the direction of enhancing the completeness of the police investigation in terms of eliminating crime and guaranteeing human rights.
Reporter Kim Joon-hee [email protected]
