검․경 수사권 조정 정부합의안에 대한 비판적 검토 및 합리적 대안 모색

A Critical Analysis of the Inter-Governmental Agreement for the readjustment of Investigation Rights Reform in South Korea

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Over the past few decades, there has been debate on whether police should be given greater investigative power such as giving police a mandate to close a case or file for an arrest warrant, independent of prosecutorial power. Readjusting the investiagtion rights and reforming the prosecution is also under key policy pledge by the Moon Jae-in government and the government said in mid-June it will empower police to conduct and close initial investigations in all cases independently of the prosecution as part of reform measures aimed at reducing massive concentration of investigative powers in the prosecution. The plans were outlined in an agreement reached by the prosecution and the police agency and was submitted to the National Assembly for review. This article examines the pros and cons of the readjustment of investigation power and it analyzes the reform measures in the agreement for redefining the relationship between prosecutors and police in readjusting their investigative jurisdictions. It concludes that the measures don’t correspond with their new ‘horizontal’ relationship and is in danger of reducing the effectiveness and efficiency of investigation process. For the more effective and efficient investigation and enhancing protection of the rights of suspects, this article proposes reform recommendations, such as separating prosecutors for investigation from prosecutors for prosecution and adopting a prosecutor’s dispatching system to police stations.