Prosecutors and police take initiative for recovery of proceeds of crime and corruption

March 16, 2018

Ministry of Justice & National Police Agency

The Republic of Korea

There has been a prevailing public opinion that recovery of profits created from criminal acts such as corruption is dealt with too leniently in Korea. The prosecution launched Criminal Proceeds Recovery Department on February 12 and the police created Criminal Proceeds Tracking and Investigation Team on March 11.

According to press release by the Ministry of Justice as of January 26, 2018,

The prosecution newly established the Criminal Proceeds Recovery Section in the Supreme Prosecutors' Office which will support subordinate prosecutor offices' recovery of criminal proceeds and play a policy role, as well as the Criminal Proceeds Recovery Department in Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office which will take the charge of investigating concealed criminal proceeds and pursue their recovery, for the purpose of blocking the acts of concealing criminal proceeds that are becoming more clever and globalized and of raising the rate of recovery of criminal proceeds.

The Criminal Proceeds Recovery Department is an organization dedicated to tracking of money laundering and concealed criminal proceeds, which is constituted of one chief prosecutor, two prosecutors, and three investigators. The former "Criminal Proceeds Recovery Team" that had one prosecutor and two investigators has been expanded into department.

The Criminal Proceeds Recovery Section of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office will play the role of the control tower to lead investigations and tasks of recovering criminal proceeds by prosecutors of subordinate prosecutor offices nationwide who are in charge of criminal proceeds recovery, including those at the Criminal Proceeds Recovery Department of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.

According to press release by the police as of March 12,

The police will carry out a pilot operation of the 'Criminal Proceeds Tracking and Investigation Team' in order to enhance expertise in dealing with important cases related with "economic and financial crimes and corruption crimes" by reinforcing the capabilities of "money tracking and financial and accounting analysis."

The National Police Agency will assign 12 financial and accounting analysis experts to the White-Collar Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency from March 12.

The 'Criminal Proceeds Tracking and Investigation Team' will perform direct support by joining frontline investigation teams when support is required by local police agencies and investigation teams of police stations.

The team will take the charge of analysis of bank and financial accounts, analysis of accounting and taxes, on-site support for search and seizure on companies, and support for the "application for preservation for forfeiture before prosecution*" by tracking of criminal proceeds.

* The "preservation for forfeiture before prosecution" is an order that temporarily bans disposition of property subject to investigation before prosecuting the case, for the purpose of execution of forfeiture or charging order that could be issued later.