National Investigation Headquarters Chief: "It is true that there are concerns about the Ministry of Justice-led Police-Prosecution Council"

Contradictory Claims on 'Investigation Authority Adjustment' Unconstitutionality
"Expecting Fair Discussion"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Jo] Nam Gu-jun, head of the National Police Agency’s National Investigation Headquarters, said on the 11th that regarding the Ministry of Justice’s claim that the investigation authority adjustment bill is unconstitutional while continuing to operate the prosecution-police consultative body for revising subordinate laws, "I expect fair discussions within the scope that does not exceed the purpose of the current law, which stipulates the equal cooperative relationship between the prosecution and police and the police’s investigative autonomy."

At a press conference held at the Police Agency in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the same day, Director Nam said, "It is true that there are concerns about the Ministry of Justice claiming the unconstitutionality of the law while overseeing the revision of the enforcement decree of the same law," but added, "The current Criminal Procedure Act is a law completed after decades of discussions between the prosecution and police and social consensus through long deliberation." He added, "I expect the Constitutional Court to make a proper judgment on the constitutionality of the law."

Director Nam’s remarks came after the Ministry of Justice filed a constitutional dispute trial with the Constitutional Court against the so-called 'Geomsu Wanbak (complete removal of prosecution’s investigative authority)' law, claiming that the 2020 prosecution-police investigation authority adjustment was also unconstitutional. Since then, there have been criticisms inside and outside the police that it is contradictory for the Ministry of Justice, which filed the constitutional dispute trial, to oversee the prosecution-police consultative body discussing follow-up measures ahead of the implementation of the Geomsu Wanbak law.

The prosecution-police consultative body held two meetings from the practical meeting on the 30th of last month until the 7th of this month. From the composition stage, there was controversy over the 'tilted playing field' as more than half of the members were former prosecutors. Director Nam said, "The Police Agency has proposed to the Ministry of Justice that the prosecution and police should recommend an equal number of members to ensure fair and objective discussions," and added, "In the future, the expert and policy council should be composed of an equal number of members recommended by each institution from academia experts who are not former prosecution or police personnel."

Earlier, the Police Agency recommended Professor Seo Bohak of the Law School as a member of the expert and policy council who can reflect the police’s position to the Ministry of Justice on the 27th of last month. A National Investigation Headquarters official said, "The police were notified to recommend only one person, so we recommended Professor Seo," and added, "There has been no response from the Ministry of Justice yet." Director Nam also said, "There has been no official response from the Ministry of Justice yet," and added, "We discussed this part at the practical meeting on the 7th, and I think we will receive notification before the expert and policy council meeting, which will be held for the first time on the 15th."

At the second practical meeting of the prosecution-police consultative body, it is known that the prosecution also proposed to set the investigation period for complaint and accusation cases to three months. A National Investigation Headquarters official said regarding this, "Under the Criminal Procedure Act, when the prosecution accepts a complaint or accusation, it is stipulated that the investigation should be completed within three months, but this is mostly seen as a guideline," and emphasized, "This part may be re-established as an investigation guideline, but the investigation guideline is something that all investigative agencies must commonly set, so the current subordinate decree is sufficient from the police’s standpoint."

Regarding the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s move to establish a Police Bureau and other police control measures, Director Nam said, "I strongly agree that democratic control of the police is necessary," but added, "I think the necessity of control should be balanced with securing neutrality and accountability." When asked about Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min’s recent interview with a media outlet, in which he expressed strong distrust by saying that 'the police commissioners of the previous administration were linked to political power,' Director Nam avoided answering, saying, "I think it is not a matter to respond to." Regarding Minister Lee’s mention in the same interview that 'there are quite a few cases that were not investigated in the previous administration,' he said, "I understand that he was referring to cases of other agencies," and drew a clear line by saying, "Investigations must be conducted strictly according to law and principles without any political considerations."

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