Is a 'Self-Investigation' of Treason by the Police Acceptable? Spotlight on Permanent Special Prosecutors and Special Joint Investigation Headquarters

"Separate Investigation Authority Needed"
Only Police Can Investigate Treason
Democrats Move Toward Permanent Special Prosecutor for Treason

As the police leadership faces investigation over the blockade of the National Assembly during the emergency martial law, controversy is arising over a ‘self-investigation.’ Experts point out that structurally, a fair investigation cannot be conducted and emphasize the need for a separate investigative body.

Minister of the Interior and Safety Sang-min Lee and Commissioner General of the National Police Agency Ji-ho Jo are attending an emergency inquiry on the police response during martial law at the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee on the 5th. Photo by Hyun-min Kim

On the 6th, Jang Young-su, a professor at Korea University Law School, criticized the investigative system in an interview with Asia Economy, stating, “No matter which investigative agency handles the case, the police conduct a ‘self-investigation,’ the prosecution carries out an ‘unauthorized investigation,’ and the High-ranking Officials’ Crime Investigation Office (Gongsucheo) faces ‘inadequate investigation’ due to manpower shortages.” He added, “For joint investigations to be possible, legal grounds must first be established and structural issues within investigative agencies must be resolved.”

Kim Jae-yoon, a professor at Konkuk University Law School, said, “At present, we have no choice but to trust the personal judgment of the head of the National Investigation Headquarters, but if the four agencies?police, prosecution, Gongsucheo, and military prosecution?are combined, checks and balances can be achieved.” He advised, “The most effective approach is to quickly form a special joint investigation headquarters to coordinate efforts.”

Under current law, due to the adjustment of investigative authority between the prosecution and police, only the police can investigate the crime of rebellion. However, the police, prosecution, and Gongsucheo have each launched investigations into charges such as rebellion and abuse of authority under the Criminal Act, and rebellion under the Military Criminal Act. The prosecution has formed a special investigation headquarters consisting of 62 members, including prosecutors, investigators, and military prosecutors, while the police have established a special investigation unit for martial law with about 150 personnel. Gongsucheo has requested that the prosecution and police transfer the martial law declaration case to them. This situation is escalating conflicts among investigative agencies over the martial law case.

Ultimately, as overlapping investigations and concerns over fairness arise among the agencies, calls for a separate investigative body are gaining momentum. The Commissioner General of the National Police Agency cannot, in principle, specifically command or supervise investigations by the National Investigation Headquarters. However, the head of the National Investigation Headquarters is appointed by the president upon recommendation by the Commissioner General, and due to the nature of the police organization, independence is questioned. The prosecution, having initiated an investigation into abuse of authority, plans to proceed with investigating rebellion charges related to the case. Gongsucheo, although it investigates the president and high-ranking officials, does not have jurisdiction over rebellion charges. Therefore, if abuse of authority is confirmed, they intend to investigate rebellion charges concurrently.

The Democratic Party plans to pass a ‘Permanent Special Prosecutor Investigation Request on Rebellion Charges’ at the National Assembly plenary session on the 10th. Unlike individual special prosecutor laws, the permanent special prosecutor can be activated by a majority vote of the total members (151 or more), bypassing President Yoon’s veto power. Once the investigation request is approved, it will be immediately activated and will take over all materials from existing investigative agencies for a comprehensive investigation. A motion to impeach the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency has also been submitted and is scheduled to be processed on the 12th.

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