Police to Implement Conflict-of-Interest Rules for Family-Related Cases, Strengthen Oversight

The government is pushing to introduce a conflict-of-interest system that transfers cases involving a police officer's family members to other jurisdictions, as well as establishing an independent investigative body under the National Police Commission to enhance the fairness and democratic control of police investigations.

The measures, prompted by the Jang Yun-gi case, also include plans to eradicate internal police corruption and strengthen checks between investigative agencies.

The government announced the "Plan to Eradicate Internal Corruption in Police Investigations and Strengthen Democratic Control," which includes measures to root out internal misconduct, reinforce external oversight, and establish mechanisms for checks between investigative agencies.

First, the government will overhaul personnel and inspection systems to eliminate internal corruption.

To reduce the possibility of collusion due to officers working in their hometowns or areas of connection, a full-scale rotational personnel system will be introduced. Additionally, a conflict-of-interest system will be implemented, requiring immediate reporting to the head of the police station and the leadership of the provincial police agency if a person involved in a case is the officer's spouse or a direct lineal relative.

Such cases will be investigated directly by the provincial police agency or transferred to a different police station for handling.

An "Internal Corruption Investigation Unit" will also be newly established directly under the Commissioner of the National Office of Investigation.

This unit will be a dedicated organization responsible for gathering intelligence on and investigating investigative misconduct and corruption across the national police force.

Inspection functions will also be strengthened.

The investigative inspection duties, currently handled by the internal audit department of the National Office of Investigation, will be overseen by the Human Rights Audit Officer at the National Police Agency headquarters to enhance independence and fairness.

The government also plans to increase the number of frontline inspection personnel and implement a policy that, in principle, excludes individuals from the local region from serving as heads of inspection departments (Audit and Inspection Officers) at provincial police agencies.

There are also plans to expand the scale of rewards for reporting internal corruption and to activate an anonymous proxy reporting system through lawyers.

Evaluation and external monitoring of police investigations will be strengthened as well.

The lawyer-led evaluation of judicial police, currently implemented in some regions, will be expanded nationwide, and a system will be built to allow real-time checking of the results of human rights protection surveys conducted on case participants.

In addition to existing administrative audits, the Board of Audit and Inspection plans to conduct cooperative audits with the National Police Agency regarding investigative misconduct, such as procedural issues, leaks of investigative information, and unauthorized private inquiries.

New external control mechanisms for police investigations will also be established.

The government is pushing to install an independent "Police Investigation Human Rights and Inspection Body" under the National Police Commission.

The plan is to have a dedicated investigation bureau to oversee police investigation control, with an open-position bureau chief and investigators from the private sector tasked with investigating human rights violations, shoddy or unfair investigations, and cases where police fail to comply with prosecutors' requests for supplementary investigations.

The government plans to allow not only victims and the general public but also frontline investigators who have received improper orders and prosecutors from the Public Prosecution Service to request investigations. Based on the findings, the National Police Commission will be able to demand disciplinary action, personnel measures, or institutional improvements from the National Police Agency.

The government has also decided to review plans to reorganize the National Police Commission into an administrative committee and expand its authority and role.

The role of the Police Investigation Review Committee will also be strengthened.

The Police Act will be amended to specify the legal basis for the establishment of the Police Investigation Review Committee.

The method of selecting committee members will be changed from appointment by the provincial police agency chief to a random lottery system.

The government also plans to establish a subcommittee dedicated to cases involving socially vulnerable groups to better reflect the opinions of victims.

The necessity of measures will also be reviewed by the Police Investigation Review Committee when prosecutors demand the exclusion from duty or disciplinary action against police officers for failing to comply with requests.

Furthermore, when the Public Prosecution Service requests supplementary investigations, it will be granted the authority to request that the case be reassigned to a different investigation team or a different police station if it is determined that fairness cannot be expected from the existing team.

Mutual checks and cooperation between investigative and prosecution agencies will also be reinforced.

For cases nearing the statute of limitations, the scope of cases requiring mandatory consultation between the police and the Public Prosecution Service will be expanded to include all cases.

If necessary, joint cooperative investigations will be conducted between the agencies to prevent the expiration of the statute of limitations due to investigation delays.

Internal monitoring and management within the police will also be strengthened for cases where prosecutors have requested or demanded supplementary investigations.

The government plans to form a "Reform Task Force for Enhancing Trust in Police Investigations" within the National Police Agency to prepare additional measures for strengthening investigative capabilities and improving procedures for handling cases involving socially vulnerable groups.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.