Victims Turn Investigators: Chasing, Stakeouts, and the Risk of Countercharges for 'Stalking' [Complainant as Detective] ③

Following Suspects, Canvassing Neighbors
Over a Year of Legwork for the Investigation
Produced 2,000 Pages of Transcript Evidence
937 Days Since the Crime... Still No Resolution
Average Investigator Handles 29 Cases
Victims Step U

Editor's NoteAs the bill to abolish the Prosecutors' Office is set to pass the National Assembly's plenary session on the 25th, people on the ground are engaged in battles that are close to "private prosecutions." The government insists on "prosecution reform without harm to the public," but the reality felt by victims of criminal cases is quite different. This article examines the chaos that has emerged in the field after the adjustment of investigative powers between the police and the prosecution, and diagnoses the problems that citizens will face in the era of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency one year from now.

Transcript recorded by Sunyoung on December 7, 2023. The portrait is unrelated to this case.

Airdrop, lock-in, blockchain, and so on.

At 3:00 p.m. on December 7, 2023, at a police station in Seoul, complainant Kim Sunyoung (47) raised her eyebrows at the unfamiliar terms. Sunyoung paid a coin expert a fee of about 5 million won and asked them to testify to the investigator about the coin company's business model and new types of fraud. As a result, the investigator, the complainant, and the lawyer all listened to the expert's explanation together. This conversation was compiled into a 96-page transcript.

Page 84 of the transcript. The investigator said, "No matter how I look at it, this coin doesn't seem legitimate. Do you think we can make an appeal to the prosecutor or judge?" The expert replied, "I've appeared as a reference witness, but even the judges don't understand. I end up telling them, 'Judge, this isn't it,' and leave."

Losing All 200 Million Won

It all began in March 2022. Company A posted a notice in a stock trading chat room saying, "Buy coins at a discount before listing." Hoping to earn some money for her children's education, Sunyoung invested a large sum. It was during a time when the IPO boom was in full swing and the myth of Bitcoin billionaires was spreading.

The reality was fraud. Complaints began to be filed in early 2023. The CEO of Company A was indicted and detained at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office on April 22 last year. He was charged with defrauding 10.4 billion won from 377 people over about two months, from March 16 to May 26, 2022. Sunyoung lost 200 million won. It was money she had carefully saved through her work in insurance sales.

The harsh stares from her family were painful. She thought that meeting other complainants in similar situations and supporting the investigator's evidence collection was the only way forward. She believed that the person directly involved had to step up for the investigation to progress.

Pursuit, Surveillance, Stakeouts

In May last year, Sunyoung began by obtaining a certified copy of the company’s registration under its corporate name. She discovered the address of a villa owned by a top-level sales agent. She parked her car there and staked out the location every day. After several days of waiting, she saw someone who appeared to be a salesperson parking. She secretly took photos. She also photographed the vehicle’s license plate and sent it to the investigator in charge.

She visited each tenant in nearby buildings to gather information. This was to track the movements of suspects who had not yet been investigated. She followed the movements of key suspects and conducted inquiries in the area. She believed that showing such dedication would move the investigators to forward the case.

She recorded neighbors’ statements such as, "It looked like they were moving a safe," and "It's a small building, but it's suspicious that they use fingerprints to enter." She compiled these into transcripts, printed them out, and handed them to the police. She hoped that even small pieces of evidence would help catch accomplices and recover criminal proceeds.

By September this year, the number of pages of evidence compiled by Sunyoung with the help of a court reporter had reached 2,000. Sunyoung said,

"It's as if I've been financially murdered. To live again, I have no other choice but to see this through to the end."

As of September 23 this year, it has been 937 days since the fraud occurred. The first trial against the company CEO is still ongoing, and the main perpetrator has yet to be indicted.

Private Investigations: Are They Problematic?

"The average number of cases per investigator nationwide is 29.4 (33.9 in Seoul)."

This number clearly explains why private investigations led by victims themselves, like Sunyoung's case, are so common. Since the adjustment of investigative powers between the police and the prosecution, each investigator is handling a large number of cases. As a result, cases are being pushed aside, leading to inadequate investigations and backlogs, especially for everyday civil cases. Frustrated victims have made it a routine to collect evidence and documentation themselves.

A lawyer with an office in Seocho-dong said, "Because conversations recorded in public places or photos taken outside are not considered illegally obtained evidence, it has become a trend for complainants to submit large volumes of transcripts directly to the police."

However, when victims take matters into their own hands, there is always the risk of private revenge or counterclaims. Attorney Yoon Jaeseon said, "Complainants, unable to endure the injustice, sometimes visit the accused's home and end up being threatened with charges such as trespassing, stalking, or false accusation. This shows that victims do not trust the state's criminal justice system and are exposing themselves to secondary harm."

A lawyer who formerly worked as a prosecutor said, "Our Constitution clearly states that only investigative agencies can prosecute, but the fact that victims feel investigations are insufficient means that the criminal justice system is not functioning properly." He added, "If such chaos continues after the establishment of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, discussions on introducing a 'private prosecution' system or discovery procedures allowing lawyers to investigate, as in the UK, may begin in earnest."