South Korea's National Assembly on July 31 approved an amendment to the Criminal
Procedure Act that removes prosecutors' authority to conduct direct and
supplementary investigations. The measure passed 175-2-1. Under the amendment,
prosecutors may no longer carry out direct investigations or initiate
supplementary probes themselves; if they deem further investigation necessary
they can only request judicial police to conduct supplementary investigations.
The change is part of broader prosecutorial reform.
