New Crime Agency Lacks Case System, Files Arrest Warrants by Hand

The Major Crimes Investigation Agency, launched after the abolition of the Prosecution Service, has run into trouble building its own criminal justice information system, disrupting early-stage investigative work including requests for arrest warrants.

Rep. Cha Kyu-keun of the Rebuilding Korea Party told a news conference at the National Assembly on the 7th that the agency has no system in place. “During the Prosecution Service era, KICS allowed documents to be filed electronically, but the new agency does not have it yet,” Cha said. “Courts cannot accept warrants or litigation documents produced by the agency’s investigations.” Current court rules on the use of electronic documents in criminal proceedings require criminal justice agencies to file documents with courts through the electronic litigation system, except in limited cases. The rules are intended to digitize criminal procedures and unify the management, filing and receipt of case records.

The problem is that the agency began operating without its own version of KICS, the Korea Information System of Criminal Justice Services. The agency is currently borrowing the police version, but only some functions are available, leaving a gap in the electronic processing of arrest warrants and other documents destined for courts. The agency is handling the paperwork manually for now. Cha blamed the Supreme Court’s rules for the problem. “The Supreme Court’s laziness and work slowdown ultimately harms the public,” he said, demanding an immediate revision of the rules.

Politicians, however, see a bigger problem in the agency starting operations before putting basic infrastructure such as computer systems in place. They say the agency was launched without even complete IT infrastructure because the overhaul of the criminal justice system was pushed through on a fixed deadline. An agency official said it was in talks with courts to allow document filing by invoking an exception clause in the current rules, adding that there would be no problem in requesting arrest warrants.