Police Officer Involved in Incident Cannot Conduct 'Self-Investigation'... Conflict of Interest Prevention Mechanism Needed

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission stated that when a police officer becomes a complainant or suspect, it may cause controversy over fairness if the investigation is conducted by their affiliated agency, so it is necessary to transfer the case to another police station.

Kim Tae-gyu, Vice Chairman of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, is giving a briefing.
[Photo by Jo Yong-jun]

According to the Commission on the 27th, police officer A filed a complaint against another officer B last June on charges including defamation. The case was assigned to the investigative department of the police agency to which A belongs. B filed a grievance, stating, “It is difficult to expect an objective and fair investigation when the case is investigated by the investigative department to which the complainant belongs, so please take measures to allow the investigation to be conducted by another police station.”

The Commission expressed the opinion that, considering the need to operate strengthened conflict of interest prevention measures to ensure the fairness of police investigations, cases in which police officers are complainants or suspects should be transferred to a nearby police station.

Kim Taegyu, Vice Chairman of the Commission, emphasized, “It is necessary to actively resolve situations where doubts about fairness may arise in police investigations to secure the fairness of investigations and gain public trust.”