Three Months Using the Title 'Tamjeong'... Related Legislative Discussions Also Accelerate

Public Official or Manager?
Qualifications by Private Sector, Supervision by Police
'Managerial' Bill Strongly Under Review

Private Detective/Photo by Getty Images Bank

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] Three months have passed since the official use of the title "tamjeong" (detective) became possible, and legislative efforts related to this are accelerating. Although there is debate over how to manage tamjeong, a plan is being actively considered to leave the issuance of qualifications to the private sector as it is now, while strictly holding violators accountable under the law.

According to the National Police Agency on the 19th, since August 5th of this year when commercial activities under the tamjeong title became possible, it is estimated that about 1,000 tamjeong offices have been established nationwide in the past three months. In line with this, discussions on enacting tamjeong-related legislation at the National Assembly level have also become active. On the 10th of this month, Lee Myung-soo, a member of the People Power Party, introduced the "Act on the Management of the Tamjeong Business" as the main sponsor. This bill aims to establish a legal basis for the tamjeong business, grant the police authority to guide, manage, and supervise it, and include provisions for enhanced penalties for illegal activities. Additionally, Yoon Jae-ok and Seo Beom-su of the People Power Party, both former police officers, along with Lim Ho-seon of the Democratic Party, co-hosted a National Assembly seminar to discuss the direction and strategy for enacting the Tamjeong Business Act.

Since about 8,000 tamjeong are already active under the name "private investigator," there is bipartisan consensus on the need to enact laws to manage and supervise them. The law should clearly define the scope of tamjeong duties and provide for management and supervision of illegal activities. Currently, tamjeong can legally perform three main types of work: ▲tracking missing minors ▲tracking stolen or lost items ▲fact-finding based on publicly available information or with the consent of the other party.

The key issue is whether to move toward a "certified tamjeong" system managed by the state from qualification to operation, or to maintain the current "management-type" system where qualifications are issued by the private sector but supervised and guided by the police. Academia and others suggest adopting a Japanese-style tamjeong system as a private autonomous business, while enacting laws for police management. Since the tamjeong title became available, the National Police Agency inspected 22 qualification issuing institutions for tamjeong from late September to early October over three weeks, issuing correction orders to five institutions with concerns such as failure to collect consent forms for personal information, inadequate exam management, and unclear indication of private qualifications in advertisements. This also demonstrates that management is sufficiently possible even without state certification. Professor Lee Sang-won of Yongin University’s Department of Police Administration suggested, "It is necessary to specify the scope of work concretely in the Tamjeong Act," adding, "Managing through a government consultative body or committee is also one option."

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