Police Establish Specific Notification of Non-Prosecution Reasons... Ensuring Complainants' Rights

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters announced on the 1st that it is currently implementing improvements to the system so that complainants can fully understand the reasons when a case is dismissed, following recommendations from the National Human Rights Commission of Korea.

Previously, the Human Rights Commission recommended that police officers receive job training, stating that briefly notifying complainants of investigation results infringed on their right to know. In response, the National Investigation Headquarters shared related cases with police stations nationwide and emphasized compliance with the existing methods for drafting dismissal notices.

According to the amended Criminal Procedure Act, effective from this year, when the police decide not to forward a complaint case, they must notify the complainant within seven days of the purpose and reasons for not forwarding the case to the prosecutor, and the complainant may raise objections to the dismissal decision. However, in February last year, a complaint was filed with the Human Rights Commission because an investigator handling a fraud case at a police station in Seoul did not inform some suspects of the purpose and reasons for the dismissal decision. At that time, the police explained that during the early implementation of the amended Criminal Procedure Act, some investigators briefly notified the reasons for dismissal, resulting in complainants not fully understanding the content, and that there were differences in the notification content among investigators.

Since then, the police have improved guidelines to ensure that complainants can fully understand the purpose of dismissal decisions by specifically stating the reasons for dismissal in the investigation result notification. The police provide complainants with detailed information from the 'dismissal decision document,' which is an investigative document prepared when a dismissal decision is made, excluding personal information and investigative techniques, thereby faithfully guaranteeing the rights of complainants.

The police also explained that they have improved related IT systems and guidelines to ensure that complainants who proceed with complaints through legal representatives can receive sufficient assistance. Additionally, they announced the establishment of a 'case inquiry function' on the Criminal Justice Portal, allowing lawyers to check information such as the police officer in charge and the processing status of cases they have taken on. They added that unless lawyers express a desire not to receive notifications about investigation progress and results, all such notifications will be sent.

The National Investigation Headquarters stated, "With the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Act requiring police to conduct responsible investigations, we will continue to make every effort to fully guarantee the rights of complainants and other parties involved and to establish a citizen-centered investigation system."

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