The National Police Agency Establishes Inspection Function for 'Investigative Duty Police Misconduct'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] The National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters (NIH) has decided to establish a new function to oversee police misconduct related to investigative duties.

According to the National Police Agency on the 5th, the NIH and police agencies in cities and provinces nationwide began the selection process last week for 64 investigative inspectors across the country. These investigative inspectors will be assigned as follows: 6 to the NIH, 8 to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, 6 to the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, 4 each to Busan, Daegu, Gyeonggi Bukbu, Jeonbuk, Gyeongbuk, and Gyeongnam, and 2 each to other regions.

The National Police Agency plans to complete the selection, training, and field deployment within this month. The investigative inspectors will be responsible for handling misconduct related to duties by investigative police officers under the command of the NIH chief, including abuse of authority, excessive use of force, acceptance of money or entertainment, and interference in cases. Incidents such as drunk driving, sexual violence, and gambling will continue to be handled by existing internal oversight departments within the police.

A National Police Agency official explained, "Misconduct related to duties will primarily be overseen by investigative inspectors, while the existing oversight departments will also conduct investigations. This overlapping oversight is intended to strengthen the fairness of investigative police and the independence of the NIH."

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