Exclusion of Air Force Military Police Investigation Duties... Establishment of Air Force Investigation Unit

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The Air Force has established the ‘Air Force Investigation Unit’ to take full charge of the duties of the Air Force Military Police Corps. This measure follows the controversy over the inadequate initial investigation by the military police of the victim’s unit in the case of the death of an Air Force non-commissioned officer who was a victim of sexual harassment in May.

On the 1st, the Air Force reorganized the investigation units, which had previously operated separately by unit, into a centralized investigation team, five regional investigation teams by area, and a forensic investigation center. Going forward, the plan is to cultivate specialized investigative personnel and form specialized investigation teams within the central and regional investigation units according to types of crimes. The aim is to enhance investigative expertise and guarantee independence so that frontline unit commanders cannot influence investigations.

The existing Military Police Corps will be excluded from investigative functions. However, it will continue to be responsible only for base security, anti-terrorism, and maintaining order within the military.

Colonel Kwak Sang-hoon (Air Force Academy Class 39), who was inaugurated as the first head of the Investigation Unit, stated, "To restore the credibility of investigations, we will carry out our duties with human rights and justice as core values," and urged the unit members, "Let us build a top-class investigative agency that is the most righteous in protecting human rights and the strongest in expertise."

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