[2021 National Audit] Song Kiheon Questions Why the Corruption Investigation Office's 'Search Warrant Dismissal Rate' Is Higher Than Police and Prosecutors

Song Kiheon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, serving as a member of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] On the 12th, Song Ki-heon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, questioned why the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (PCC) has a higher rejection rate for search and seizure warrants compared to other investigative agencies such as the prosecution or police during a National Assembly audit.

At the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee's audit of the PCC held that afternoon, Song Ki-heon enumerated the monthly number of search and seizure warrant requests and rejections by the PCC and asked PCC Chief Kim Jin-wook why the rejection rate was so high.

Song stated, "Since the PCC's launch, the number of search and seizure warrant requests has not been many, but looking at the data, in May, 4 requests were made with only 1 granted; in September, 6 requests were made with 4 granted and 2 rejected; in June, out of 7 requests, 3 were granted and 4 were rejected."

He continued, "Generally, the rejection rate for search and seizure warrants by the prosecution or police is about 10% at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and about 12% for the police under its jurisdiction. Of course, since the number of cases itself is not large, statistical significance might be limited, but compared to the general prosecution and police, the rejection rate for PCC's search and seizure warrants is undeniably high," he pointed out.

Regarding the high rejection rate of search and seizure warrants requested by the PCC, Song analyzed, "First, it could be seen as judicial checks and balances. Second, it might be that the PCC requested warrants for matters where search and seizure were not permissible, leading the court to reject the warrants. I think both possibilities exist."

He emphasized, "While I don't know about all cases, some might have had overly broad warrant scopes, mismatched content, or insufficient effectiveness, which could have led to rejections."

He added, "I understand that the PCC is still newly established and conducting investigations with limited personnel, but if even basic warrants like search and seizure are frequently rejected, I think there is a need for internal review on this matter."

When Song asked, "Chief, what do you think is the reason for the warrant rejections?" Chief Kim responded, "I will fully consider the points you mentioned in handling the work," but also said, "Since this concerns investigative matters and past cases, I will explain."

Chief Kim explained, "In the initial case in May, where 4 requests were made with 1 granted and 4 rejected, the 4 rejected cases were submitted simultaneously, and the rejected warrants were for the phones of persons involved in the cases. From what I understand, the court is very strict regarding phones."

He added, "The PCC is definitely under the court's control through search and seizure. I wanted to convey this."

Song once again urged, "It seems there was some immaturity in the request process, so I ask you to thoroughly review it from that perspective."

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