South Korean police will create dedicated units at metropolitan and provincial police agencies nationwide to manage cases in which prosecutors request supplementary or renewed investigations. The move comes ahead of the Oct. 2 enforcement of the revised Criminal Procedure Act, which abolishes prosecutors' authority to conduct supplementary investigations, and aims to make police investigations faster and more complete. A Major Duty-Related Crime Investigation Unit dedicated to probing misconduct within the police, such as downplaying or covering up cases, will also be established at the National Office of Investigation.
The Korean National Police Agency said on the 16th that it will upgrade the investigation review divisions at metropolitan and provincial police agencies to investigation review departments headed by senior superintendents, with new investigation cooperation divisions under them, in line with this month's second-half personnel reshuffle.
The investigation cooperation divisions will exclusively manage and support the handling of cases referred by prosecutors, including requests for supplementary investigations, renewed investigations and corrective measures. A total of 144 officers will be deployed across metropolitan and provincial agencies to manage and analyze in real time the intake and processing of such cases.
Seoul will receive the largest allocation with 27 officers, followed by 19 in southern Gyeonggi Province, 12 in Busan, nine in Incheon and eight in Gyeongsangnam Province. Officers will be assigned by region or police station to closely manage cases from intake to notification of compliance, while also reviewing whether the direction and outcome of investigations are appropriate.
Field liaison officers will be posted at metropolitan and regional prosecution offices. They will serve as a communication channel supporting consultation and coordination between investigation teams and prosecutors before investigation results are reported, in a bid to improve the completeness of investigations.
The management system for supplementary investigations will also be strengthened. Police station chiefs will receive daily reports on the status of cases referred by prosecutors and direct investigations accordingly, while metropolitan and provincial police commissioners or investigation bureau chiefs will hold monthly case management meetings to review the intake and handling of cases in their jurisdictions. Police said the system is designed to prevent cases referred by prosecutors from being overlooked or improperly handled.
A body to directly examine investigative misconduct inside the police will also be launched. The police agency will establish the Major Duty-Related Crime Investigation Unit at the National Office of Investigation during this month's second-half reshuffle. The unit is intended to address corruption and collusion arising during investigations, as well as the downplaying or covering up of cases.
The unit will operate on a regional basis nationwide, gathering intelligence on investigative misconduct within police offices. It plans to directly investigate officers found to have committed misconduct.
Police are also considering deploying investigation examiners — fixed-term civil servants drawn mainly from legal experts — at police stations nationwide to intensively review cases closed internally, such as those not formally registered or left unresolved, and to strengthen legal analysis of major cases referred to prosecutors.
An official at the National Office of Investigation said, "Through the creation of departments dedicated to managing cases referred by prosecutors and the establishment of the Major Duty-Related Crime Investigation Unit, we will ensure that police investigations are swift and complete, and we will raise trust in police investigations by eradicating internal misconduct and securing fairness in investigations."
