New Capital Market Special Judicial Police Fully Launched... Actively Responding to Unfair Trade Elimination

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The Capital Market Special Judicial Police, a financial authority investigating illegal activities in the capital market, is officially launching.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced on the 30th that it has established a special judicial police team within the Capital Market Investigation Unit and will begin full operations starting on the 31st.

To strengthen enforcement against unfair trading in the capital market, the FSC announced a reorganization plan for the Capital Market Special Judicial Police last December 28. Subsequently, the Capital Market Special Judicial Police operational regulations were established, and the FSC and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) each appointed 3 and 4 special judicial police officers, respectively. Separate office space was also prepared, and the number of special judicial police officers at the FSS was increased from 10 to 15.

The FSC and FSS special judicial police will prioritize investigations of cases that the FSC Securities and Futures Commission refers or reports to the prosecution, or cases assigned to the special judicial police through the prosecutor’s direction in urgent Fast-Track cases handled by the Securities and Futures Commission chairman.

They may also investigate cases where a certain level of investigation has been conducted through notifications of the Korea Exchange’s review results or joint investigations by the FSC and FSS, and where the need to convert to a criminal investigation is recognized.

Cases where the special judicial police independently recognize criminal suspicion will be handled exclusively by the FSC special judicial police, considering the unique nature of investigative work and public legal sentiment.

The Investigation Deliberation Committee within the Capital Market Special Judicial Police is established to prevent unwarranted initiation of investigations into self-identified cases. It functions as an internal control mechanism to review the necessity of starting investigations based on urgency and other factors. Participants include the head of the FSC Capital Market Investigation Unit, the investigation officer, the head of the FSC Fair Market Division or a public official of grade 4 or higher designated by the Securities and Futures Commission standing member, and the deputy governor of the FSS. If necessary, a self-discipline committee member designated by the Securities and Futures Commission standing member may also participate.

As the main agency responsible for maintaining order in the capital market and protecting investors, the FSC plans to devote efforts to eradicating unfair trading through close cooperation with related organizations. Furthermore, it will utilize the nine years of accumulated forced investigation experience since the launch of the Capital Market Investigation Unit, the FSS’s professional personnel, and the collaborative system with investigative authorities efficiently to respond more organically to illegal activities discovered during unfair trading investigations.

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