Catching fugitives who fled abroad, tracing money flows... The net for tracking crime is tightening

[Financial News] Plans to strengthen the legal basis for police international cooperation in responding to transnational crime are moving forward in earnest in the National Assembly. This comes as the scope for using INTERPOL notices is being clarified, including their use to identify assets linked to criminal proceeds and establish the identities of missing persons.
According to the National Assembly Bill Information System on the 1st, Lee Sang-sik, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), introduced as the lead sponsor on the 23rd of last month a bill to partially amend the Act on the Performance of Duties by Police Officers containing these provisions.
The amendment’s main purpose is to specify the legal basis for police international cooperation and the use of INTERPOL notices. Current law allows police to exchange information with foreign government agencies and international organizations, among others, and engage in international cooperation activities to carry out their duties. However, it contains no separate detailed provisions on the work of INTERPOL’s National Central Bureau or the handling of notices.
INTERPOL is responsible for international law enforcement cooperation, including sharing crime-related information among member countries and locating fugitives through international notices. As crimes requiring cooperation between countries become more common, calls are growing to strengthen the institutional framework supporting police international cooperation.
The amendment specifies that the Commissioner General of the Korean National Police Agency is to carry out the duties of the National Central Bureau under the INTERPOL Constitution. It also provides a basis for cooperating with intergovernmental international law enforcement cooperation organizations and establishing and operating the secure communications systems run by those organizations.
In particular, it sets out detailed rules on receiving INTERPOL notices—documents requesting cooperation in locating wanted persons that INTERPOL distributes to member countries—notifying relevant agencies, requesting their issuance, and using them. It also allows the Commissioner General of the Korean National Police Agency to ask INTERPOL to issue a notice if the commissioner deems it necessary to perform official duties or if a relevant agency makes a request.
The amendment also specifies how notices may be used. Under the bill, the Commissioner General of the Korean National Police Agency and relevant agencies that receive the notice may use it as a lead in an investigation, within the scope of the purpose for which it was issued, or determine whether the criteria for an emergency arrest are met. It may also be used to initiate extradition proceedings or as reference material for immigration screening. The amendment clarifies the scope of use so that notices can serve not only as a means of locating fugitives abroad but also in domestic investigations and the work of relevant agencies.
Notices may also be used to check for irregularities in financial transactions; establish the whereabouts and ownership of crime-related assets, including criminal proceeds; and initiate procedures to preserve or return those assets. The permitted purposes also include confirming the identity and whereabouts of missing persons or unidentified deceased persons; preventing and warning of threats to public safety; and collecting, analyzing, and sharing information on criminal methods and other crime-related matters.
The amendment also clarifies the basis for international cooperation activities carried out through police officers deployed overseas or stationed at diplomatic missions abroad. It allows the Commissioner General of the Korean National Police Agency and the Commissioner of the Korea Coast Guard (KCG) to conduct international cooperation work through police officers assigned to foreign government agencies or international organizations, as well as officers stationed at diplomatic missions abroad.
The amendment would leave the organization and operation of the National Central Bureau, the scope of international law enforcement cooperation organizations, standards for establishing secure communications systems, procedures for handling notices, and the scope of cooperation activities conducted through police officers posted overseas to be prescribed by Presidential Decree.
A police official said, “As transnational crime increases, information sharing and cooperation with overseas law enforcement agencies are becoming increasingly important,” adding, “If the legal basis and procedures for international cooperation work are spelled out in greater detail, it will help us carry out activities such as tracking fugitives abroad and checking crime-related information according to clearer standards.”
[email protected] Seo Ji-yun Reporter