Police Agency Organizational Restructuring Ahead of 'Jachigyeongchalje' Implementation... Establishment of National Investigation Headquarters

Decentralized Public Security Administration Implementation... Enhancing Investigation Independence and Expertise

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] A new police organizational system to implement the autonomous police system and establish the National Investigation Headquarters starting next year has been finalized.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the National Police Agency announced on the 29th that the "Enforcement Decree of the National Police Agency and Its Affiliated Organizations" was approved at the Cabinet meeting held at the Government Seoul Office.

First, while maintaining the current police organizational system as much as possible, the organization will be reorganized to actively reflect the purpose of the amended Police Act, which stipulates different command and supervision authorities according to public safety duties to strengthen democracy and decentralization. To this end, a "Director of Autonomous Police Affairs" will be newly established at the headquarters to oversee policy establishment related to autonomous police affairs and to handle cooperation and coordination between local governments and related agencies.

The provincial police agencies will transition from the existing deputy commissioner and department head system to a three-division system, establishing a "Deputy Commissioner or Division Head for Autonomous Police" (excluding Jeju and Sejong agencies) in the third division, reorganizing the structure to fit a command and supervision system divided into national, investigative, and autonomous affairs.

Along with this, to strengthen the police's own investigative command capabilities, enhance direct investigative capabilities centered on provincial police agencies, and reinforce the review system for closed investigation cases, the National Investigation Headquarters and its subordinate organizations have been designed.

The National Investigation Headquarters (Head: Senior Commissioner) will be established within the National Police Agency, with two offices (Investigation Planning and Coordination Officer, Forensic Investigation Manager), four bureaus (Investigation Bureau, Criminal Bureau, Cyber Investigation Bureau, Security Investigation Bureau), and one division (Investigation Human Rights Division) under it.

The newly established "Investigation Planning and Coordination Officer (Commissioner)" will oversee administrative support, review, and policy for investigative police, and the four bureaus will be responsible for directing investigations of major cases by crime type. In particular, the existing Security Bureau will be reorganized into the "Security Investigation Bureau," expanding its duties to include counterintelligence investigations, industrial technology leakage, terrorism, and counterespionage investigations, as well as preparing to receive counterintelligence investigation authority from the National Intelligence Service in the future.

To prevent human rights violations during police investigations, an "Investigation Human Rights Division" will also be established as an advisory body directly under the head of the National Investigation Headquarters.

With the enforcement of the amended Prosecutors' Office Act, the metropolitan investigation units of provincial police agencies will be expanded and reorganized to allow the police to investigate major cases such as fraud and embezzlement, which were previously handled by prosecutors. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, where there is high demand for public safety, will expand from two units to four units (unit chiefs: Senior Superintendents), and two units (department-level organizations) will be established each at the Busan and Southern Gyeonggi Police Agencies, with one unit each at the Incheon, Daegu, and Gyeongnam agencies.

To review the appropriateness of police investigations before referral to the prosecution, dedicated investigation review departments will be established at provincial police agencies and police stations, and review personnel will be reinforced.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety stated, "With this reorganization of the National Police Agency, we expect that public safety administration suitable for regional circumstances will be carried out and that the professionalism and independence of investigations will be enhanced."

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