Why are prosecutors rejecting more police arrest-warrant requests in South Korea this year?

Police investigators have complained that prosecutors have become reluctant to seek warrants requested by them amid a major overhaul of the prosecution. Under the reform, prosecutors were stripped of their investigative powers, and the prosecution office was abolished last Friday after 78 years.

How many arrest-warrant requests did police file and how many were rejected by prosecutors between January and August?

Police filed 26,961 arrest-warrant requests in that period, and 9,186 were rejected. That produced a rejection rate of 34.1 percent, the first time it exceeded 30 percent.

What happened to the rejection rate for search-and-seizure warrant requests in the same period?

Prosecutors rejected 19.1 percent of police requests for search-and-seizure warrants. That was sharply higher than the 10.7 to 13.7 percent range recorded between 2021 and 2025.

Over 30% of arrest warrant requests rejected by prosecutors this year: data

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Summary

Police arrest-warrant requests were rejected by prosecutors at a 34.1 percent rate between January and August this year, data showed Sunday. It was the first time the rejection rate exceeded 30 percent. The rate has risen steadily since 2021, alongside complaints from police investigators amid prosecution reform.

Key Facts

Police filed 26,961 arrest-warrant requests between January and August this year.
Prosecutors rejected 9,186 of those requests, or 34.1 percent.
The rejection rate had risen from 22.8 percent in 2021 to 26.8 percent in 2025.
The rejection rate for police search-and-seizure warrant requests was 19.1 percent during the same period.
South Korea abolished the prosecution office last Friday and launched two new agencies separating investigative and indictment powers.

By Yonhap

Published Oct 4, 2026 10:54 am KST
Updated Oct 4, 2026 11:14 am KST

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office / Yonhap

The proportion of arrest warrants filed by police that were rejected by prosecutors surpassed 30 percent for the first time this year, data showed Sunday.

According to the Public Prosecution Service, police filed for a total of 26,961 requests for arrest warrants between January and August this year. Of them, 9,186, or 34.1 percent, were rejected by prosecutors.

It marked the first time the rejection rate for arrest warrant requests exceeded 30 percent.

The rejection rate has trended upward since reaching 22.8 percent in 2021, rising to 26.8 percent in 2025.

Police investigators have complained that prosecutors have become reluctant to seek warrants requested by them amid a major overhaul of the prosecution, under which prosecutors were stripped of their investigative powers.

Last Friday, Korea abolished the prosecution office for the first time after 78 years and launched two new agencies separating investigative and indictment powers amid long-standing criticism that the prosecution had wielded excessive authority.

The data also showed that prosecutors' rejection rate for police requests for search and seizure warrants stood at 19.1 percent during the cited period, sharply higher than the 10.7-13.7 percent range recorded between 2021 and 2025.

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