MFDS cases find new home...but where will rebate probes go?

MFDS Criminal Investigation Office cases will continue to be referred to the Serious Crimes Prosecution Division of the Seoul Western District Public Prosecution Service

Rebate investigation hub disappears with dissolution of former Food and Drug Crime Investigation Division of the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office...New investigative authority remains unclear

Joint task force on illegally operated hospitals and license-lending pharmacies also disbanded...cases dispersed to police

Food and drug cases previously handled by the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office’s Food and Drug Crime Investigation Division will now largely be handled by the Serious Crimes Prosecution Division of the Seoul Western District Public Prosecution Office. AI-generated image.

The investigative framework for Korea’s healthcare sector is taking different paths across different areas following the abolition of the Prosecutors’ Office and the launch of the Public Prosecution Service on October 2.

Some ongoing cases have been dispersed to police following the dissolution of joint investigation teams, while in other areas, it remains unclear which body will take over from the specialized investigative units that previously handled them.

Food and drug cases investigated by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s Criminal Investigation Office will now be referred to the Seoul Western District Public Prosecution Service instead of the former Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office..

For pharmaceutical and medical device rebate cases, however, the successor investigative authority remains unclear following the dissolution of the Food and Drug Crime Investigation Division of the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office, which had previously led such investigations.

A separate joint investigation team focused on illegally operated hospitals and pharmacies operating under borrowed pharmacist licenses has also been disbanded, with its existing cases transferred to different police units.

According to relevant agencies on the 6th, the transition to the new prosecution system and dissolution of the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office’s Food and Drug Crime Investigation Division have also reshaped investigative and prosecutorial functions in food and drug cases.

The referral system for food and drug cases directly investigated by the MFDS Criminal Investigation Office, however, remains largely unchanged.

A Serious Crimes Prosecution Division that has been established within the Seoul Western District Public Prosecution Service will handle food- and drug-related cases. As a result, cases completed by the MFDS unit will continue to be referred to the Seoul Western District Prosecution Service.

An MFDS Criminal Investigation Office official said, “The Seoul Western District Public Prosecution Service has established a Serious Crimes Prosecution Division, and its responsibilities include food and drug cases. As before, all cases investigated by our unit will be referred to the Seoul Western District Public Prosecution Service.”

The official added, “Since we previously referred all food and drug cases investigated by the unit to the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office, there is little practical change on our part.”

The greater uncertainty surrounds investigations into pharmaceutical and medical device rebates. These had largely been conducted through joint investigations led by the Food and Drug Crime Investigation Division of the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office, with police, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the MFDS and other agencies providing personnel and specialized information under prosecutor-led investigations.

The Seoul Western District Public Prosecution Service is still determining how individual cases previously handled by the Food and Drug Crime Investigation Division will be reassigned.

An official from the Seoul Western District Public Prosecution Service said. “The work previously handled by the Food and Drug Crime Investigation Division is expected to fall under the Serious Crimes Prosecution Division, but the division of responsibilities has not yet been fully settled.”

Regarding where cases from the former investigative areas would be transferred, the official said, “Cases are being handled individually, so it is difficult to provide details on the specific transfers.”

The Serious Crimes Prosecution Division is responsible for indictments and maintaining prosecutions in food and drug cases but does not conduct investigations itself.

The police can investigate rebate cases, while the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency may also become involved depending on the nature of a case. However, it remains unclear whether the dedicated investigative framework previously led by the Food and Drug Crime Investigation Division will be maintained.

The joint investigation team on illegally operated hospitals and license-lending pharmacies, established at the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office in May, was also disbanded ahead of the launch of the new prosecution system.

The task force was dissolved as of the 1st, and personnel seconded from agencies including the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the National Health Insurance Service and HIRA have returned to their respective organizations.

An official from the task force said, “The team was disbanded as of Oct. 1, and all seconded personnel returned to their original organizations,”.

Cases being investigated by the team were also transferred to police. “We handed existing cases over to the police, including some that went to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. Previously, cases were consolidated in one place for investigation, but they have now been split up.”

Investigations into illegally operated hospitals and license-lending pharmacies have therefore shifted from a centralized model that brought personnel together in a single task force to a decentralized, police-led system.

For areas such as rebates, illegally operated hospitals and license-lending pharmacies, where investigations had been led jointly by prosecutors and other agencies, maintaining specialized investigative capabilities and continuity hereon will be a key challenge under the new system.

Meanwhile, the Prosecutors’ Office, which had held both investigative and prosecutorial authority, closed after 78 years, with the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and Public Prosecution Service launched on the 2nd of this month. The change marks a major restructuring of Korea’s criminal justice system, with investigative and prosecutorial functions formerly exercised by prosecutors now assigned to separate agencies.

Under the revised Criminal Procedure Act, Public Prosecution Service Act, and Serious Crimes Investigation Agency Act that took effect on Oct. 2, police are responsible for investigating general criminal cases, while the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency handles serious crimes. The Public Prosecution Service will determine whether to indict cases referred by investigative agencies and conduct prosecutions in court. As a result, criminal complaints and accusations can no longer be filed with the Public Prosecution Service. General cases must be filed with police, while crimes under the jurisdiction of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency must be filed with that agency.

The Serious Crimes Investigation Agency investigates major crimes including corruption, economic crimes, defense procurement offenses, narcotics, national security offenses, cybercrime and abuse of law. It also conducts supplementary investigations into seven categories of crimes involving socially vulnerable victims, including child abuse, domestic violence and sexual offenses. Crimes committed by senior public officials in connection with their duties remain under the jurisdiction of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials.

With the abolition of the Prosecutors’ Office, cases previously investigated by prosecutors are also being transferred to the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency or police according to jurisdiction. Prosecutors at the new Public Prosecution Service may, however, continue investigating certain cases for up to 90 days when the statute of limitations is approaching or when consistent handling is required for matters such as warrant applications.