[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] The Gyeonggi-do Special Judicial Police Unit is taking the lead nationwide in strengthening human rights protection for suspects, reporters, and informants involved in cases and investigations.
Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police announced on the 12th that it has implemented the "Gyeonggi-do Special Judicial Police Unit Case Acceptance and Investigation Handling Guidelines" since the 10th. This is the second internal regulation following the "Gyeonggi-do Special Judicial Police Unit Human Rights Protection Investigation Guidelines" enacted in January. Notably, Gyeonggi-do is the first local government special judicial police department to establish its own investigation handling guidelines.
Since the inauguration of Governor Lee Jae-myung of Gyeonggi-do, the scope of duties has expanded to cover 108 laws, the largest among local governments, leading to an increase in reports and tips from residents. The unit recognized that if all parties involved in received cases were booked, the scope of suspects would be excessively broadened, potentially causing various human rights violations. This prompted the creation of the new guidelines.
In particular, as the content of reports and tips has expanded from everyday crimes to corporate crimes, the Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police explained that the guidelines were necessary to prevent the identification or disadvantage of public interest reporters and informants and to protect their personal safety.
The main contents include ▲ regulations on compliance with due process and the obligation to protect the human rights of those under investigation and witnesses during the initiation, progress, and conclusion of investigations ▲ criteria for classifying reports and tips into investigations, preliminary inquiries, and petitions upon receipt ▲ procedural regulations for initiating and directing preliminary inquiries ▲ specification of standards for concluding preliminary inquiries ▲ regulations on the compilation and storage of investigation records ▲ and protection regulations for reporters and informants.
According to the guidelines, Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police will classify all reports and tips into investigations, preliminary inquiries, and petitions. Approval from the head of the Special Judicial Police Unit is required to initiate and direct preliminary inquiries, prohibiting arbitrary initiation by individual investigators. By clarifying the processing standards at each stage of preliminary inquiries, transparency has also been enhanced.
Inchi Kwon, head of the Special Judicial Police Unit, explained, "Through these guidelines, we expect to clarify the case acceptance standards of the Special Judicial Police and regulate detailed procedures for preliminary inquiries, thereby enhancing the legality of the investigation process and the trust of residents in the Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police."
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