Korea Abolished the Prosecutors’ Office. Here’s What Changed.
On October 2, 2026, Korea’s Prosecutors’ Office (검찰청) was abolished and replaced by a new Prosecution Service (공소청) and a separate Serious Crimes Investigation Office (중대범죄수사청). If you are facing a police matter in Korea, the agency structure you deal with has changed.
For decades, a Korean criminal case ran through police and then the prosecutors’ office, which both investigated and decided whether to charge. As of October 2, 2026, that office no longer exists. Its charging and trial functions moved to a new Prosecution Service, while a separate Serious Crimes Investigation Office now handles a defined list of serious offenses, alongside the police.
For most foreign nationals, the first point of contact is still the police. What has changed is what happens after that: prosecutors generally no longer conduct their own investigations, but they still decide whether to file charges, apply for warrants, and can send a case back to police for further investigation.
Who investigates now
Routine investigation is now handled almost entirely by the police. A new Serious Crimes Investigation Office handles a specific list of serious matters — public corruption, major financial and securities crime, drugs, telecom and crypto fraud, and similar categories — and its investigators hold the same legal status as police investigators.
The Prosecution Service no longer has a general power to open its own investigation. Its role is to decide whether to file charges, apply to the court for warrants, request further investigation from police, and review cases that were closed without charges.
What this means if you are questioned by police
If you are summoned for a police interview, that process has not fundamentally changed — you are still entitled to a lawyer present, and what you say is still recorded in a Korean-language statement. What is different is that a prosecutor is less likely to re-interview you afterward to fill gaps; instead, prosecutors send specific, written requests for further investigation back to police. That makes the quality of your first statement more important, not less.
If you do receive a summons from the new Prosecution Service itself, it is worth clarifying up front what it is for — whether it relates to a case that was already under prosecutorial investigation before October 2, 2026 (a limited transitional category), or a narrow fact-check ahead of a charging decision.
If you were the victim or complainant
If police decide not to refer your case to prosecutors (a "non-referral" decision), you now have a defined, generally three-month window from the date you are notified to formally object. A new right lets you request access to the investigation file to prepare that objection, though police or prosecutors can limit or condition that access, and misusing a file you were given access to can itself carry a penalty. Missing the three-month window can make the case very difficult to revive.
A new procedure also lets a complainant raise an objection while an investigation is still open — for example, if six months have passed with no real investigative activity and no good reason for the delay.
A new "interview" with a prosecutor — and its limits
Instead of re-interviewing suspects directly, a prosecutor deciding whether to file charges, request further investigation, or maintain a prosecution can now gather facts by hearing from the suspect, interested parties, experts or the police — a narrower "fact-finding" process rather than a full interrogation. Victims, complainants and reporting parties can also request their own interview with the prosecutor, though the prosecutor decides whether to grant it.
What is said in this fact-finding interview cannot itself be used as trial evidence — it can only feed into a request sent back to police for further investigation. If you are the suspect, you are legally entitled to have your lawyer present for this process, and it is worth confirming that before you attend.
Case files are mid-transfer right now
Many case files that were with the old Prosecutors’ Office are still being sorted and transferred to the police or the new Serious Crimes Investigation Office, and the IT system behind this transition is still being rebuilt, so some records are moving on paper for now. A limited window running through late December 2026 also lets prosecutors finish certain cases under the old rules rather than transferring them immediately. If you are told your file "hasn’t arrived yet" at a given agency, that delay is often part of this transition rather than a sign something has gone wrong — but it is still worth confirming directly with the agency involved.
Where a lawyer fits
The practical effect of this reform is that the police stage now carries more weight than before, because the old safety net of a prosecutor independently re-investigating the case has largely been removed. That makes getting the record right the first time — in the police interview, in how evidence is submitted, and in how any complaint is drafted — more important for both suspects and victims.
Attorney Doyun Lee, a KBA-certified criminal law specialist, advises foreign nationals on both sides of a Korean criminal case — people under investigation and victims filing a complaint — and tracks which agency a given case actually sits with before deciding how to respond.
Real results in similar cases
Results reflect individual cases and do not guarantee the outcome of any similar matter.
Related pages
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Korea still have prosecutors?
Yes, but the office itself was reorganized. The former Prosecutors’ Office (검찰청) was abolished and its functions moved to a new Prosecution Service (공소청), whose prosecutors decide on charges and apply for warrants rather than running their own general investigations.
Who investigates most criminal cases now?
The police. A separate Serious Crimes Investigation Office handles a defined category of serious offenses such as corruption, major financial crime, drugs and telecom fraud, working alongside rather than instead of the police.
I was told to appear at the new Prosecution Service. Is that the same as the old prosecutor’s office?
Not quite — its investigative role is far narrower. It is worth confirming in advance whether the summons relates to a case that started before October 2, 2026 under the old rules, or a limited fact-check tied to a charging decision, since that changes what to expect.
Does this reform affect foreign nationals differently?
Not in principle — the same procedures apply regardless of nationality. In practice, the police stage now matters more because prosecutors re-investigate far less than before, which makes an English-reviewed first statement more important for a foreign suspect or victim.
My case was closed without charges. How long do I have to object?
Generally three months from the date you are formally notified of the non-referral decision, though the exact deadline and any extension depend on the specifics of the case. This is a hard deadline worth confirming immediately after notification.
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