South Korea's police have assigned 26 investigators to a new Major Duty-Related Crime Investigation Unit dedicated to internal corruption and the downsizing or covering up of cases, moving into full preparations for its launch. Senior officers at the rank of senior superintendent or above who receive heavy disciplinary action for serious misconduct such as taking money or entertainment, or sexual misconduct, will be permanently barred from key posts including station chief and investigative positions.
According to the Korean National Police Agency on the 16th, the National Office of Investigation will establish the Major Duty-Related Crime Investigation Unit under the Investigation Planning and Coordination Office, in line with the personnel reshuffle in the second half of this month. The unit will handle duty-related misconduct within the police, including corruption and collusion arising during investigations as well as the downsizing or covering up of cases. The aim is to raise the independence and fairness of investigations by having a separate body take on internal misconduct cases that are difficult for frontline police stations to handle on their own.
The unit will divide the country into regions to collect intelligence on investigative misconduct within police stations and will investigate directly when criminal allegations are confirmed. While existing internal audit functions have focused on administrative steps such as preventing misconduct and imposing discipline, the unit will take over matters requiring criminal investigation based on audit records and crime intelligence and begin investigating them itself.
The reshuffle assigned a total of 26 officers: one superintendent, eight senior inspectors, 10 inspectors, five assistant inspectors and two senior police officers. Many came from specialized investigative divisions, including the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's financial crime, metropolitan crime, cyber and international crime units, and the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency's anti-corruption and economic crime and cyber investigation units. The move is seen as intended to draw on experience in complex investigations for internal misconduct cases as well.
Personnel penalties for misconduct by senior officers will also be strengthened. Officers from senior superintendent up to deputy commissioner general who receive heavy disciplinary action for investigation-related misconduct, taking money or entertainment, sexual misconduct, drunk driving or abuse of authority will face a permanent restriction on assignments to key posts, including station chief and positions in investigation and inspection, audit and human rights departments. Officers at the rank of senior superintendent general or above will, as a rule, be excluded from consideration for key posts altogether. The aim is to raise accountability among the leadership by ending the practice under which officers could be reappointed to key posts after a certain period.
Police will also upgrade the investigation review sections at provincial and metropolitan police agencies nationwide to senior superintendent-level investigation review divisions, and create investigation cooperation sections under them, assigning 144 officers, to strengthen management of cases such as those referred back by prosecutors. An official at the National Office of Investigation said, "We will root out duty-related misconduct within the police and secure fairness in investigations, while ensuring that investigations are carried out swiftly and thoroughly."
