Increase in Police Investigation Personnel... 269 Fixed-Term Public Officials to Be Deployed in the Field Next Month

Seodaemun-gu, Seoul Police Agency building. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] As part of measures to strengthen investigative capabilities, the police will deploy 269 fixed-term public officials to the field next month.

The National Police Agency announced on the 14th that 269 fixed-term public officials in the 'investigation support sector' will be assigned to each provincial police agency next month. By provincial police agency, the distribution is as follows: ▲Seoul Police Agency 63 ▲Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency 54 ▲Busan Police Agency 20 ▲Gyeonggi Bukbu Police Agency 17 ▲Incheon Police Agency 15 ▲Gyeongnam Police Agency 15 ▲Daegu Police Agency 13 ▲Chungnam Police Agency 10 ▲Gyeongbuk Police Agency 10 ▲Gwangju Police Agency 8 ▲Daejeon Police Agency 7 ▲Ulsan Police Agency 7 ▲Chungbuk Police Agency 7 ▲Jeonbuk Police Agency 6 ▲Jeonnam Police Agency 6 ▲Gangwon Police Agency 5 ▲Jeju Police Agency 5 ▲Sejong Police Agency 1. These officials will support investigative administrative tasks such as reviewing and copying case records at police stations under the jurisdiction of each provincial police agency.

This deployment is a measure to create an environment where investigators can focus solely on actual investigations. Since the adjustment of investigative authority between the prosecution and police last year, frontline investigators and other investigative department staff have been burdened with excessive work. They had to write decision documents that prosecutors used to handle, and even for cases that were not sent for prosecution, copies had to be forwarded to the prosecution, leading to self-deprecating remarks that they had brought 'copying rights, not investigative rights.' A police official expressed hope, saying, "With the deployment of fixed-term public officials, investigators who previously handled administrative tasks will be freed from duties such as managing case records and will have the capacity to be deployed to investigative sites."

The deployment of fixed-term public officials is also part of the police's ongoing efforts to improve investigative infrastructure. Earlier, Nam Gu-jun, head of the National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency, announced measures through the internal network 'Polnet' in July to address the accelerated avoidance of investigative departments following the adjustment of investigative authority. The selection and deployment of fixed-term public officials were included in these measures. Subsequently, the National Police Agency announced recruitment for fixed-term public officials in the investigation support sector in August and has been proceeding with related procedures. After announcing the successful candidates of the document screening last month, interviews have been conducted at each provincial police agency since this month.

In addition, the police plan to increase investigative personnel by about 1,000 in the first half of next year to improve investigative infrastructure. Through this, they aim to reduce the current average case processing period per person, which stands at 64.2 days, back to the pre-investigative authority adjustment level of 55.6 days. The plan to increase investigative personnel is being discussed in detail by the Police System Development Task Force and others, and the leadership, including Commissioner General Yoon Hee-geun, has emphasized the need to secure related budgets in the National Assembly.

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