South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Friday that his government will begin balancing the investigative power between the police and the prosecution from next year as such authority has been given only to prosecutors for the past seven decades.
Moon said in his speech to celebrate the 72nd anniversary of the National Police Day that adjusting the investigative power between the prosecution and the police was a task which must be done to protect the people's human rights.
The president promised the launch of adjustment from next year, saying the final conclusion will be reached via a voluntary agreement between the two investigative bodies or a neutral organization if necessary.
The issue has been a hot potato in the country since 1990s as the authority to investigate criminal suspects has been granted only to prosecutors.
By law, all criminal investigations by police are required to be under the command of prosecutors. The prosecution has both power of accusation and investigation, while the police has no independent investigative authority.
The search and arrest warrants should be issued by a court, and the prosecution has the authority to seek such warrants.
The police demanded an independent investigative power to seek arrest and search warrants as they cannot look into corrupt prosecutors without such authority. The police also claimed prosecutors can intervene in the cases linked to their potential interests.
The concentration of the investigative power into the prosecution office dates back to the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
Under the colonial rule, the police collaborating with the Imperial Japan severely violated the human rights of the Korean People. That experience led to the first constitution of South Korea guaranteeing both the indictment and the investigative authority to prosecutors.