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

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

According to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS), police filed 26,961 requests for arrest warrants between January and August. Prosecutors rejected 9,186, or 34.1 percent, of them.

It marked the first time that 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 requested warrants after a major overhaul of the prosecution, in which prosecutors were stripped of their investigative powers.

On Friday, Korea abolished the prosecution office after 78 years and launched two new agencies, separating investigative and indictment powers following longstanding 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 to 13.7 percent range recorded between 2021 and 2025.

Yonhap