Seoul police chief: “One month after Criminal Procedure Act revision, supplementary investigation requests are up, but not to a burdensome level”

[Financial News] Marking one month since the revised Criminal Procedure Act, which abolished prosecutors’ authority to conduct supplementary investigations, took effect, Seoul police chief Go Beom-seok said that the number of requests for supplementary investigations had risen, but not to a burdensome level. While the number of such requests this year has indeed increased compared with a typical year, there has been no noticeable rise in the month around the law’s implementation, he said.
Chief Go made the remarks at a regular press briefing at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on the 2nd, saying, “The concerns people had after the amendment are not being borne out on the ground.”
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, it received 94 requests for supplementary investigations last month, when the revised law took effect alongside the abolition of the Prosecutors’ Office. That was 19 more (about 25%) than the monthly average of 75 from January through September this year. “Divided among 31 police stations, that works out to about 0.6 per station,” Chief Go said, explaining that “most requests are not about difficult legal questions, but ask us to supplement the facts or procedures.” The total number of cases received, around 45,000 a month, increased by just 1,000 (about 2%) from the previous month. Of the 171 suggestions submitted to the Seoul agency’s on-the-ground consultation support task force, 138 (81%) were also mostly procedural matters, such as how to apply the revised procedures.
Asked about the National Investigation Headquarters’ statement last week that requests for supplementary investigations had risen by around 60% year on year, he said, “Compared with last year, they have increased considerably at the Seoul agency as well,” but added, “Looking at the overall trend this year, there has been no sharp spike since the law changed.” Chief Go said he was focusing on job training to help the additional new investigators settle into their roles quickly, and that at a meeting of police station chiefs that morning, he had also urged them to keep a close eye on investigations.
The investigation of independent lawmaker Kim Byung-ki is nearing its final stages. Police summoned Kim again on the 31st of last month and questioned him from 10 a.m. until 1 a.m. the following day. “The questioning is complete, and we are proceeding with the cooperation process for major cases with a prosecutor at the Prosecution Office, in accordance with the investigation rules,” Chief Go said. “Once the results are in, we will review the records and reach a final conclusion.” He declined to say whether police would reapply for an arrest warrant, saying, “The police have not yet settled on a position.” The arrest warrant police sought in September for Kim, who faces 13 allegations including illegal payments for candidate nominations and bribery, was returned by prosecutors, and the deadline for handling the case recommended by the Seoul agency’s Investigation Review Committee has already passed.
Some details have emerged about the deceased’s activities before his death in the case involving the disposal of a “mummified” body in a residential area of Guro District. The deceased, a Chinese national in his 50s, was treated in an intensive care unit for a chronic illness from August 15 to 31, and reportedly could not pay his hospital bills. He is believed to have died after returning home following his discharge, and his body was found in an adjoining room. Arrest warrants for two suspects in their 60s and 80s, accused of abandoning a corpse and instigating corpse abandonment, were rejected by a court on the 29th of last month. The possibility had previously been raised that the deceased’s cohabitant concealed the death and went into hiding. However, police believe the cohabitant, who was also an undocumented immigrant, had no connection to the cause of death, as they left the country while the deceased was hospitalized.
The Seoul agency also conducted a full review of 8,800 relationship-related crime cases in its jurisdiction from the 19th to the 30th of last month. It added 297 measures to separate alleged perpetrators from victims, including applications for arrest warrants and detention in police lockups, and 226 victim-safety measures, including private security. It also launched preliminary investigations in 18 cases. This was the third such review this year.
The case involving People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo, against whom the Democratic Party filed a complaint after he raised allegations of “imperial golf lessons” for Kim Hye-kyung, has been assigned to the Metropolitan Investigation Division, which is preparing to question the complainant. The complainant in a case concerning allegations involving the children of independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon was questioned on the 27th of last month. Police will consider summoning Han after completing their review of the evidence and legal issues.
The complaint alleging the improper disbursement of encouragement payments and false reporting of business promotion expenses by Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae was assigned to the Anti-Corruption Investigation Unit, and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials was notified. In the case involving alleged kickbacks on the Han River Bus contract, police have finished questioning Seoul city officials and the complainant and are analyzing the materials.
In another case, legal review is underway in the investigation of National Agricultural Cooperative Federation Chairman Kang Ho-dong over allegations of embezzlement and accepting money and valuables, following additional questioning of Kang on the 29th of last month. Chief Go said, “A substantial part of the investigation has been completed,” but added that it was still too early to call it the final stage.
The complaint received on the 19th of last month alleging sexual exploitation in the traditional Korean music community is being handled by Bangbae Police Station, which has jurisdiction over the area where the alleged offense took place. Analysis of seized materials is continuing in the occupational breach-of-trust case involving a former president of LG Energy Solution. A third joint forensic examination is underway in Guryong Village, Gangnam District, where a fire broke out last week. Police said it would only be possible to determine whether the fire was arson, among other things, once the results are in.
[email protected] Seo Ji-yoon Reporter