Nationwide Police Investigation Review Committee Holds First Annual Meeting...Discusses Improvements to Investigation Review System

[Financial News] The Nationwide Police Investigation Review Committee met for the first time to assess the system’s performance and discuss ways to improve it. Proposals were also made to strengthen outside experts’ scrutiny of investigations and enhance the expertise of the review process.
The National Office of Investigation at the National Police Agency announced that it had held the first annual meeting of the Nationwide Investigation Review Committee at 2 p.m. on the 13th at Eoullim Madang at the National Police Agency.
About 70 people attended the event, including chairs and members of investigation review committees across the country and investigation review division chiefs from metropolitan and provincial police agencies.
The Police Investigation Review Committee is a body in which outside members, including private-sector experts, participate in reviewing the appropriateness of police investigations, among other matters. This was the first nationwide annual event since the investigation review system was introduced in 2021. It was held to share the system’s performance to date and explore ways to improve it going forward.
Kim Seon-taek, chair of the National Office of Investigation’s Investigation Review Committee, told reporters ahead of the meeting that “the investigation review system was established for internal review and control after public concerns were raised about police investigations following the adjustment of investigative powers in 2021.”
He added that about 6,200 applications for investigation review had been received this year, saying, “Of those, decisions were made to order supplementary investigations or reinvestigations in 821 cases.” Citing this, Kim said the system was functioning effectively as a mechanism for overseeing police investigations.
Kim also noted concerns about police investigations in the wake of recent changes to the criminal justice system. He stressed that “the investigation review system makes it possible to internally review police investigations to a considerable extent,” adding, “If we can ensure even a modest degree of effectiveness, we should be able to allay much of the public’s concern.”
At the meeting, the chairs of investigation review committees at metropolitan and provincial police agencies discussed ways to advance investigation reviews in their respective regions.
Kim Jae-bong, chair of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Investigation Review Committee, stressed the need to expand the role of investigation reviews through a Korean-style investigation oversight model (K-model), in which police and outside experts jointly scrutinize investigative processes and outcomes. He also proposed continuing efforts to enshrine investigation reviews in law and establishing specialized subcommittees in fields such as finance and medicine.
Park No-seop, chair of the Gangwon Provincial Police Agency’s Investigation Review Committee, cited an example of the “lead reviewer system,” under which a committee member with expertise in the relevant field serves as lead reviewer in cases with complex issues and examines those issues in advance.
The National Police Agency plans to review the opinions and examples of effective practices presented at the meeting and incorporate them into improvements to the system. It also aims to strengthen the expertise of investigation reviews while making the system’s operations more robust.
Hong Seok-gi, head of the National Office of Investigation, pledged that “objective scrutiny from outside the police is important to building public trust in police investigations,” adding, “We will respect the independent judgment of civilian committee members and actively support the review committee so it can fully carry out its substantive oversight role in relation to police investigations.”
[email protected] Kim Ye-ji Reporter