Busan City Special Judicial Police Focus on Investigating Illegal Activities Closely Related to Citizens' Daily Lives in the Public Welfare Sector

Focused Planned Investigation on Five Major Illegal Acts Affecting People's Livelihood

'Planned Investigation Prior Notice System' ... Promoting Reporting

The Busan Metropolitan City Special Judicial Police Division announced that in 2024, it plans to conduct systematic and customized planned investigations focusing on illegal activities in five major public livelihood sectors closely related to citizens' daily lives, in order to create a safe living environment for citizens.

Five Major Areas of Intensive Investigation into Illegal Activities in the Livelihood Sector with Citizens.

The five major public livelihood sectors are ▲food and origin ▲medical and pharmaceutical safety ▲public hygiene and youth ▲environmental protection ▲social welfare, selected based on high public interest and prioritization for safety assurance.

The key investigation contents by sector are ▲in the food and origin sector, manufacturing and selling of fraudulent and substandard food and false or confusing labeling of the origin of agricultural, livestock, and fishery products ▲in the medical and pharmaceutical safety sector, illegal preparation, sale, distribution, and advertising of pharmaceuticals and herbal medicines, and distribution and sale of non-compliant cosmetics ▲in the public hygiene and youth sector, unregistered beauty and hair salons, lodging businesses, and illegal operations of youth-harmful establishments ▲in the environmental protection sector, illegal activities in industrial complex-dense areas and waste disposal companies ▲in the social welfare sector, misuse of welfare facility subsidies and unauthorized disposal of basic assets.

The Special Judicial Police plan to conduct systematic investigations tailored to each of the five public livelihood sectors according to social issues by period in their investigation operations.

In the case of food, a thorough monitoring system will be established from production to consumption stages, and investigations will be conducted through close cooperation and information sharing with district and county offices and related organizations. Food analysis (DNA testing) will also be conducted in parallel to enhance the effectiveness of investigations.

Furthermore, the Special Judicial Police plan to strengthen the 'prior notification system' for planned investigations, which has been in effect since October last year, to encourage citizen interest and participation, which are essential for efficient prevention and detection of illegal activities.

Additionally, the city will reorganize and expand channels for reporting illegal activities on the city hall website and other platforms to improve accessibility, produce leaflets to distribute to citizens, and promote citizen reporting.

When necessary during the public interest reporting process, support will be provided through the ‘Public Interest Reporting Support Lawyers Group’ for legal consultations related to public interest reporting, proxy reporting, or protection of whistleblowers.

Lee Sang-yeon, head of the Busan Metropolitan City Special Judicial Police Division, stated, “As a ‘global hub city’ and a ‘global international tourism city,’ we plan to take the lead in eradicating illegal activities in public livelihood sectors closely related to citizens’ lives this year to enhance Busan’s status.” He added, “Our city will continue to meticulously manage all stages of public livelihood sectors directly linked to citizens’ safety, such as origin labeling of agricultural, livestock, and fishery products, compliance with business operator obligations, and adherence to environmental standards for air, water quality, and waste discharge.”

Last year, the Busan Special Judicial Police conducted planned investigations aligned with social issues by period, achieving results by detecting a total of 258 illegal activities in various public livelihood sectors such as food, origin, and environment. Since 2021, they have also established and implemented the ‘Human Rights Protection Investigation Guidelines,’ the first of its kind at the metropolitan city level.