Overview

• President Lee Jae Myung’s Cabinet approved the reorganization, with promulgation set for Wednesday and the prosecution service slated to shut in October 2026 under the revised Government Organization Act.
• The overhaul shifts investigations to a new Serious Crimes Investigation Agency under the interior ministry and creates an indictments office within the justice ministry.
• Former justice ministers, ex–prosecutors general and the Prosecutors’ Alumni Association say the law is unconstitutional and will file complaints once it is promulgated, citing unresolved constitutional questions flagged by prior court rulings.
• Prosecutors and legal groups will use the grace period to press for full case transfers and prosecutors’ supplementary-investigation powers to prevent weak indictments and buried cases.
• Legal experts warn of concentrated police influence over first-instance investigations and cite post-2021 data showing longer probes for fraud and embezzlement, while political fallout includes an opposition filibuster and slipping Gallup Korea approval ratings.