Lee calls for police reform to root out cover-ups, irregularities in investigations

The Korea Times - Oct 1, 2026

President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday renewed his call for thorough police reform to root out any cover-ups and other irregularities in investigations, as police are set to assume greater investigative authority under the recent revision to the Criminal Procedure Act. The president made the call during a meeting with his key aides at Cheong Wa Dae, a day before the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency (SCIA) is set to launch, along with the Public Prosecution Service, as part of the prosecution reform aimed at stripping the prosecution of investigative rights. Renamed as the Public Prosecution Service, prosecutors will only be tasked with indicting and maintaining indictments against suspects, while the SCIA will conduct investigations into corruption, defense industry crimes, insurrection and other serious crimes. Lee said the launch of the two agencies will end the era during which prosecutors wielded the authority to conduct both investigation and indictments, and acted as political prosecutors, targeting political foes and subjecting them to persecution. "A new criminal justice system w

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