After 'Burning Sun,' Anti-Corruption Task Force Formed... Yet Less Than Half of Suspicions Uncovered

18 Cases of Collusion Corruption Investigated Over One Year, Only 7 Disciplinary Actions Taken

Club Burning Sun entrance. (Photo by Lee Jung-yoon, Junior Reporter)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Despite the National Police Agency establishing an anti-corruption task force to conduct internal inspections following the so-called 'Burning Sun incident,' which revealed collusion between police officers and club operators, there are criticisms that the results have been minimal.

According to data submitted by the National Police Agency to Rep. Kim Young-bae of the Democratic Party on the 7th, the anti-corruption task force received 18 internal corruption cases, including the Burning Sun incident, but only 7 cases resulted in disciplinary action after investigation. Among these, 4 cases were related to the Burning Sun incident.

Earlier, the National Police Agency created and operated the anti-corruption task force from July last year to investigate collusion-related corruption involving police stations in the Gangnam area, including Gangnam, Seocho, and Songpa districts in Seoul, as well as public officials in the region, aiming to eradicate collusion corruption among field police officers following the Burning Sun incident.

During its approximately one-year activity period, the anti-corruption task force investigated a total of 18 cases, but closed 11 cases without clarifying suspicions. Among the Burning Sun-related cases, allegations that former Gangnam Police Station officer A entered the club for free and that officer B handled a minor’s entry into a bar inadequately were closed without establishing criminal charges.

So far, 11 police officers have been disciplined in connection with the Burning Sun incident, including former Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Detective C of the Gwangsu Unit, who was dismissed for accepting bribes in exchange for suppressing the case. The disciplinary levels include 2 dismissals, 6 reprimands, and 3 warnings. In response to Rep. Kim’s inquiry, a National Police Agency official explained, “In the 11 cases where no action was taken, there were suspicions but they could not be proven.”

Although the police declared they would use the Burning Sun incident as a lesson to improve integrity, misconduct among active police officers has continued. In fact, the number of disciplinary cases against police officers for bribery, dereliction of duty, damage to dignity, and violation of regulations increased from 417 cases in 2018 to 428 cases in 2019. Additionally, since the announcement of anti-corruption measures, 268 active police officers have been under investigation for misconduct.

Controversy over police protecting their own ranks also persists. The rate of sending cases involving active police officers to the prosecution with a recommendation for indictment is significantly lower compared to that of ordinary citizens. From 2017 to 2019, out of 4,764 police officers booked, only 1,205 were sent to the prosecution with a recommendation for indictment, a rate of 25.2%. This is less than half of the 57.4% indictment recommendation rate for ordinary citizens over the past three years.

Rep. Kim criticized, “Last year, due to many suspicions of collusion between police and entertainment establishments, an anti-corruption task force was even operated, but once public interest waned, both the investigation results and countermeasures were inadequate.” He added, “In the future, special measures must be prepared to address inappropriate collusion involving the police.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.