The case, which was transferred by the police but for which the prosecutor requested supplementary investigations, accounted for 1 out of 8 cases last year.
According to data submitted to the Korean National Police Agency by Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Yang Boo-nam on the 4th, the police transferred 778,294 cases to prosecutors last year. Of these, the number of cases returned by prosecutors for supplementary investigations was 104,674, or 13.4%.
By year, there were 87,173 cases in 2021, 103,185 cases in 2022, and 99,888 cases in 2023, with the number of requests for supplementary investigations reaching a record high last year.
Before the transfer in 2021, the police were under the jurisdiction of the prosecutors in a hierarchical relationship. However, as the investigative authority was adjusted and the prosecution's investigative directive power was abolished, the request for supplementary investigations partially replaced it.
There were 14,405 cases last year where the police decided not to forward a case, believing that the charges were unfounded, but the prosecution requested a review. This is a 13.4% increase compared to 12,698 cases in 2023. Requests for re-investigation were also made for 13,659 cases in 2021 and 14,560 cases in 2022.
The number of requests by the prosecution for corrective measures when they judge that the police violated laws or abused their investigative powers was 1,761 cases last year. However, the requests for corrective measures have continually decreased from 2,640 cases in 2021 to 2,752 cases in 2022 and 2,076 cases in 2023.