Prosecution overhaul raises fears of drug probe gaps
The status of about 1,500 cases referred by the Korea Customs Service (KCS) to prosecutors remains unclear following a major overhaul of the criminal justice system that replaced the prosecution service with two new agencies, an opposition lawmaker said Thursday. The uncertainty has raised concerns about disruptions to drug investigations, as narcotics offenses account for most of the cases. Data…
The Korea Times reports that the overhaul of South Korea's criminal justice system, which replaced the prosecution service with two new agencies, has raised concerns over the handling of drug investigations. According to opposition lawmaker Rep. Lee Jong-wook, about 1,500 cases referred by the Korea Customs Service (KCS) to prosecutors remain unclear following the change.
The uncertainty stems from the fact that the customs agency has been unable to establish how those cases have been handled since the prosecution service was abolished on October 2 and its duties were divided between two new agencies responsible for prosecutions and serious crime investigations. The KCS provided data showing that customs officers with special investigative powers referred 1,582 cases to prosecutors in the first eight months of the year, with 1,123 of those cases being drug-related.
Brief written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- Prosecution overhaul raises fears of drug probe gaps koreatimes.co.kr
