Korea’s New Prosecutorial System: What You Need to Know About the 2026 Reforms

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The National Assembly passed both the bill creating the Public Prosecution Office and the bill establishing the Serious Crimes Investigation Office (SCIO). This marks the end of the prosecution’s unchecked authority that had prevailed for the past 78 years. 

On the 21st, following the previous day’s approval of the Public Prosecution Office bill, the ruling party pushed the SCIO bill through the plenary session.

The SCIO law places the new agency under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and assigns it investigative responsibilities previously handled by the prosecution.

The SCIO, set to launch in October, will be responsible for six major categories: corruption, major economic crimes, defense-industry-related offenses, drug crimes, insurrection and foreign-exchange offenses, and cybercrime. It will also investigate so-called “law-distortion” offenses and crimes committed in office by personnel of the Public Prosecution Office, the police, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), and court officials. SCIO investigators will be appointed as special-service public officials within a single-grade system spanning grades 1 through 9, and the agency will also recruit experienced professionals to ensure expertise.

The bills’ central objective is a complete separation of investigation and prosecution. The newly created Public Prosecution Office will handle prosecutions only and will operate on three levels: the Public Prosecution Office, regional public prosecution offices, and local public prosecution offices.

Lawmakers removed prosecutors’ command authority over special judicial police, added a prohibition on abuse of power by prosecutors, and established disciplinary procedures that allow dismissal without requiring impeachment.

The People Power Party strongly opposed the bills and staged a filibuster, but failed to block the legislation because the Democratic Party and its allies hold a numerical majority.

After the June local elections, the ruling bloc that passed the bills plans to pursue revisions to the Criminal Procedure Act, including the contentious issue of supplementary investigative powers that has sparked sharp internal debate.   

President Lee Jae-myung acknowledged the need for exceptional supplementary investigations, but hardliners within his party insist on full separation. Lawmakers should therefore expect heated disputes during the Criminal Procedure Act revision process.