[Exclusive] Prosecution Sees Surge in Requests for Police Investigation Corrections... Numerous Mistakes and Negligence Including Statute of Limitations Confusion

Since the adjustment of investigative authority between the prosecution and the police, there has been a sharp increase in the prosecution's demands for corrective measures regarding police investigations. As requests for supplementary investigations by the prosecution due to inadequate police investigations pour in and demands for corrective actions also rise, there are calls for the police to significantly improve their investigation standards to secure trust in the judicial system.

◆ Particularly problematic are economic and intelligent crimes = According to the 'Status of Prosecution's Demands for Corrective Measures' submitted by the National Police Agency to the office of Jeong Woo-taek, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee from the People Power Party, the prosecution requested 117 corrective measures from the police last year, a 46% increase compared to 80 cases in 2021. The majority of corrective measures targeted economic and intelligent crimes, followed by criminal and traffic cases.

The cases involved a mix of critical mistakes and negligent investigations, such as failing to criminally punish illegal acts due to police errors in applying the law, and suspending investigations without additional measures when suspects fled.

In a case where a nursing assistant performed dental treatment duties without a dental hygienist license, the police initially judged it as a violation of the Medical Service Act (statute of limitations 7 years). However, during the investigation, they belatedly realized that the case fell under the Medical Technician Act (statute of limitations 5 years). As a result, the prosecution was only able to transfer the case after the 5-year statute of limitations had passed, making it impossible to punish the suspect. There were also instances where illegal immigrants arrested in flagrante delicto were handed over to the Ministry of Justice's Immigration and Foreigners Office but the prosecution was not notified of their release. Additionally, there were cases where police failed to present and provide copies of arrest warrants when executing them on suspects for whom warrants had been issued. Furthermore, there were cases where the prosecution directly investigated and prosecuted cases that the police had suspended, as part of corrective measures.

◆ If not corrected, prosecution can directly investigate = Since the abolition of prosecutorial supervision over police investigations in 2021, the prosecution has gained the authority to demand ▲ supplementary investigations ▲ re-investigations ▲ corrective measures from the police. Supplementary investigation requests can be made when the prosecution needs to decide on filing or maintaining charges or on warrant applications submitted by the police for cases transferred by the police. Re-investigation requests can be made if the prosecution judges that a case closed by the police was unlawfully or improperly closed.

While supplementary investigation requests and re-investigation requests are powers held by the prosecution after the police conclude their investigations, demands for corrective measures differ slightly in nature. Corrective measures can be requested for cases that are under investigation or have been suspended by the police. The authority to demand corrective measures is limited to three cases: police violations of laws, human rights infringements, and significant abuse of investigative authority. When the prosecution demands corrective measures, the police must implement measures such as recurrence prevention education, document submission, and notification, and report the results back to the prosecutor. If the police fail to take corrective action, the prosecution can directly investigate. This indicates that the seriousness of issues requiring corrective measures is greater than those handled by supplementary or re-investigations conducted by the police themselves.

Kim Do-woo, a professor of police studies at Gyeongnam University, said, "The police claim to have independent investigative functions and expertise, but looking at the corrective measures, it is clear that their legal expertise is still lacking and their system is not well established."

A senior official from the National Police Agency stated, "We will thoroughly check the progress of investigations to prevent errors in legal interpretation, human rights violations during investigations, and abuse of investigative authority, and strengthen training for investigative personnel."

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