South Korea's capacity to investigate major crimes is weakening sharply ahead of the prosecutors' office dismantlement. With prosecutors dispatched to special counsel teams and others resigning, key divisions have seen staff halved, and regional offices lost about one-third of dedicated personnel. Despite the Democratic Party's reform bill passing, unresolved details are already causing investigative gaps.
South Korea's prosecutorial investigative capacity has weakened sharply, with some describing the situation as a "shutdown before closure." A total of 114 prosecutors have been dispatched to three ongoing special counsel teams, and 146 others have resigned ahead of the formal dismantling of the prosecutors' office. At the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, the financial and securities crime joint investigation division—responsible for handling complex financial cases—has seen its staff cut in half, from eight prosecutors a year ago to four today. Across 11 regional offices specializing in serious crimes, the number of dedicated investigative personnel has dropped by roughly one-third. Those who remain report a growing sense of disarray since the bill to abolish the prosecutors' office passed the National Assembly.
The Democratic Party (DP)'s decision to push the legislation through without sufficient preparation has created this void. The party hurried the bill late last month, touting it as a victory for "prosecution reform." Under the revised law, the prosecutors' office will be dissolved by October next year and replaced by two separate agencies: the prosecution office, responsible for indictments, and the major crime investigation agency, responsible for investigations. Yet key details—including the investigation agency's size and scope—remain undecided. Although one year remains before the transition, gaps in the investigation of serious crimes are already evident.
The prolonged duration of special counsels has compounded the manpower shortage. The 114 prosecutors assigned to the three teams amount to the total number of staff at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, one of the largest in the country. With so many midlevel prosecutors seconded to special counsels, some district offices are reportedly left with only junior or senior prosecutors.
Once the prosecutors' office is dismantled, police investigative powers will expand further, requiring careful planning to ensure adequate oversight. The key question is whether prosecutors in the new prosecution office will have the right to conduct supplementary investigations directly or merely request that police do so. During a parliamentary audit on Oct. 27, Ahn Mi-hyun, a prosecutor from the Seoul Central District, warned, "While I support reform, removing prosecutors' authority to conduct supplementary investigations will cause practical problems, and lawmakers must bear responsibility for the consequences." DP lawmakers strongly objected to her comments.
Rather than pushing the reform as a foregone conclusion, the DP should listen carefully to practitioners like Ahn. Any disruption in the investigation of crimes—whatever the political motive—will ultimately harm the public the most.