Nam Gu-jun, Head of the National Police Agency, "Need to Improve Exclusive Warrant Request Rights... Even for Property Warrants, Police Should Request Directly"

Reflections on One Year Since Investigation Authority Adjustment and Launch of National Forensic Service
Focus on Crimes Related to Next Year's Election and Livelihood Crimes
"In the Second Year, We Will Achieve Tangible Results That Citizens Can Feel"

Nam Gu-jun, Chief of the National Investigation Headquarters at the National Police Agency. / Photo by Jin-hyeong Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] As the adjustment of investigative authority between the prosecution and police and the National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters (Guksubon) marks its first anniversary, Nam Gu-jun, head of Guksubon, emphasized that "although it may be difficult to obtain warrants against individuals, the police should at least be able to directly apply to the court for property-related warrants."

At a press conference on the 27th, Director Nam stated, "Even after the adjustment of investigative authority, there is still a need to improve the part where the prosecution holds exclusive rights to request warrants." He explained, "Since this is a constitutional matter, prior discussions are necessary, but difficulties are arising in the field due to the current warrant application rights."

Director Nam also pointed out issues with the "Warrant Review Committee," which allows objections when warrants applied for by the police are dismissed by the prosecution. He said, "Isn't it possible to make various institutional improvements, such as establishing procedures with a third party rather than the high prosecutor's office, even before constitutional amendments?" and added, "We are continuously reviewing this matter."

Reflecting on this year, he said, "We made every effort to establish Guksubon as a responsible investigative agency," and recalled, "We prioritized human rights and set professionalism, fairness, victim protection, and crime eradication as core tasks." Director Nam continued, "We formed an investigative unit for real estate speculation and responded actively, and focused on telephone financial fraud, which has shown a trend of decreasing occurrences and damages since March."

Furthermore, with the presidential and local elections scheduled for next year, he conveyed plans to focus intensively on election-related crimes, as well as to prioritize responses to livelihood-infringing crimes such as voice phishing and stalking crimes. Director Nam stated, "If the motto of Guksubon’s first year was citizen-centered responsible investigation, in the second year, we will do our best to achieve visible results that the public can feel," and added, "We plan to respond in a way that harmonizes both the completeness and promptness of investigations."

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