One Year Since the Adjustment of Prosecution and Police Investigation Rights
<Middle>Persistent Distrust in Police
625 More Cases Than Last Year's 3,520
Number of Applications Steadily Increasing Annually
2,682 Cases Citing 'Doubt About Fairness'
Experts Say "Learning Effect Through Media"
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The persistent distrust of the police by citizens is also evident in the indicator of requests to disqualify investigators. Each year, the number of such requests has increased, and the rate of increase is also growing. The majority of these requests were to replace the police officers in charge of investigations due to doubts about fairness.
According to the National Police Agency on the 24th, the number of requests to disqualify investigators submitted up to November this year was 4,145, an increase of 625 from last year. Requests to disqualify investigators have steadily increased every year, and the rate of increase is also growing. The number of such requests was 2,425 in 2018, 2,902 in 2019 (an increase of 477 from the previous year), and 3,520 last year (an increase of 618).
According to the Crime Investigation Regulations, a directive of the National Police Agency, suspects, victims, and their lawyers can request the disqualification of an investigator if there are objective and specific circumstances suggesting that the police officer conducted an unfair investigation or there is a concern that they might do so. Such requests can only be made for complaints, accusations, petitions, appeals, or reports received by the police station. If the head of the investigation department acknowledges the reason for the disqualification request, they must reassign the officer in charge of the case within three days from the date of notification and inform the head of the audit department of this fact. However, if the reason is not acknowledged, the head of the audit department must hold a Fair Investigation Committee meeting within seven days from the date of receipt to decide whether to accept the request.
The main reason for filing disqualification requests was suspicion of fairness. Of the 4,145 cases this year, 2,682 cases (76.2%) were filed due to doubts about fair investigation. This was followed by other reasons with 738 cases (21%), insufficient investigation with 206 cases (5.9%), and dissatisfaction with investigation attitude with 141 cases (4%). The number and proportion of disqualification requests due to suspicion of fairness have also shown an increasing trend annually: 1,461 cases (60.2%) in 2018, 1,865 cases (64.3%) in 2019, and 2,422 cases (68.8%) in 2020.
Looking at the statistics by metropolitan and provincial police agencies, Seoul Police Agency received the highest number of disqualification requests with 1,257 cases up to November this year. This was followed by Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency with 603 cases, Incheon Police Agency with 250 cases, and Gyeonggi Bukbu Police Agency with 240 cases. Sejong Police Agency recorded the lowest number with 19 cases.
Experts explain that the increase in disqualification requests may be due to citizens witnessing incidents that raise doubts about police fairness and experiencing a learning effect regarding these cases. Professor Lee Woong-hyuk of the Department of Police Science at Konkuk University said, "With the adjustment of investigative authority, cases that were previously investigated by the prosecution have been transferred to the police, which could proportionally increase requests to disqualify investigators." He added, "Citizens are exposed to suspicions about police investigations in political cases through the media, and as they learn about these, doubts about investigations of their own cases may arise." He further stated, "If the police demonstrate fair investigations in cases involving power elites, trust in investigators will increase."
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