Financial regulator renames prosecution bodies in capital markets rules

South Korea's financial regulator has amended the enforcement rules of the Capital Markets Act, replacing every reference to the prosecution service with the names of the two agencies that will take over its investigative and prosecutorial functions.

The amendment touches 16 provisions of the enforcement rules, including Article 2, Article 3, Article 35 and Article 37. The word "prosecution service" in those provisions is replaced in each case by "prosecution office and major crime investigation agency," reflecting the reorganization of Korea's criminal justice system.

The change follows legislation that abolished the prosecution service and created two bodies in its place: the prosecution office under the Ministry of Justice and the major crime investigation agency under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. The revision was made to bring the enforcement rules into line with the new Criminal Procedure Act, which separates investigation from indictment.

The enforcement rules of the Capital Markets Act had specified the prosecution service as one of the agencies that may carry out investigations and inspections. The revision, promulgated as Prime Ministerial Decree No. 2165 on Oct. 20 and effective the same day, updates the names of the agencies exercising those powers without altering them.