Not an Admission of Guilt but Routine Investigation Procedure
Current Police Chief Booked, an Unusual Case
Second Investigation Since Itaewon Disaster
The police have confirmed that Commissioner Yoon Hee-geun of the National Police Agency has been booked as a suspect on charges of failing to filter out the school violence lawsuit history of lawyer Jeong Soon-shin's son during the recommendation process for the head of the National Investigation Headquarters. Although this booking follows the usual investigation procedures, it is considered an unusual case for a sitting National Police Agency Commissioner to be in the suspect position.
Seodaemun Police Station in Seoul announced on the 3rd that Commissioner Yoon, who was reported for abuse of authority and obstruction of rights, is both a "reported person and a suspect." Typically, criminal cases transition to suspect status when there is sufficient evidence, but in cases of complaints or reports, booking as a suspect occurs immediately upon case registration. The police explained that Commissioner Yoon was booked following this investigative procedure.
However, it is considered unusual for a sitting National Police Agency Commissioner to be booked as a suspect. The recent notable case of a sitting commissioner booked as a suspect was former Commissioner Cho Hyun-oh. In 2018, while in office, Cho was booked on charges of abuse of authority for directing cyber public opinion response activities, and last year the Supreme Court confirmed his prison sentence.
Regardless of booking status, this is the second time Commissioner Yoon has come under police investigation since his appointment in August last year. Previously, the National Police Agency’s Special Investigation Headquarters (SIH), which investigated the Itaewon tragedy, conducted a search and seizure of Commissioner Yoon’s office in November last year. At that time, Commissioner Yoon remained a witness, and the SIH concluded the investigation in January this year with a disposition of ‘pre-booking investigation termination,’ a form of non-prosecution.
Unlike during the Itaewon tragedy investigation, being booked as a suspect means there is a possibility that Commissioner Yoon may be questioned by the police while still in office. The police plan to decide whether to investigate Commissioner Yoon after reviewing the contents of the complaint and interviewing the complainant. Additionally, the police will conduct a legal review of the abuse of authority charges against Commissioner Yoon to finalize the direction of the case handling.
However, the consensus inside and outside the police is that the likelihood of Commissioner Yoon being transferred to the prosecution or indicted in the future is low. This is because courts have recently applied stricter standards on abuse of authority charges in cases such as judicial corruption, and investigative agencies have been narrowing the scope of applying these charges. Article 123 of the Criminal Act defines abuse of authority as a crime committed when a public official abuses their authority to compel a person to perform an unnecessary act or obstruct a person’s exercise of rights.
The police have also reportedly booked lawyer Jeong, who was reported alongside Commissioner Yoon on charges of falsifying official documents and obstruction of official duties by deception, as a suspect. Earlier, the civic group Committee for the Protection of the Livelihood of Ordinary People (Seominwi) filed a complaint with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on the 28th of last month, accusing lawyer Jeong of deliberately hiding the fact that her son had filed an administrative lawsuit to cancel a school violence disciplinary action when she applied for the head of the National Investigation Headquarters, applying these charges. The Seoul Police Agency assigned this case to Seodaemun Police Station.
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