Seoul police to launch women and youth subcommittee in October

Death case from Seongbuk-gu set to be first case reviewed

Panel of 4–6 experts to hear directly from those involved

A request has recently been filed asking police to review whether their decision to close the investigation into the death of a 44-month-old girl in Seoul's Seongbuk-gu seven years ago — before a formal case was opened — was appropriate. [AI-generated image]
A request has recently been filed asking police to review whether their decision to close the investigation into the death of a 44-month-old girl in Seoul's Seongbuk-gu seven years ago — before a formal case was opened — was appropriate. [AI-generated image]

The death of a 44-month-old girl in Seoul's Seongbuk-gu seven years ago is being considered as the first case to go before a newly created subcommittee of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency dedicated to reviewing investigations into crimes against women and children. The case is expected to be the inaugural test of a new procedure in which outside experts conduct an additional round of scrutiny on such cases, which fall under a separate chain of command from ordinary criminal investigations.

According to The Herald Business reporting on Sept. 15, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency will launch a pilot women and youth investigation review subcommittee starting next month, in line with guidelines from the National Investigation Headquarters issued on Sept. 1. The subcommittee will involve four to six outside experts in the women and youth field who will participate in reviewing individual cases. The aim is to have specialists conduct a preliminary review of crimes targeting women, children and teenagers — including domestic violence, sexual violence, dating violence, stalking and abuse.

Cases that warrant further action after the preliminary review will be referred to the full investigation review committee. The plan to establish a dedicated subcommittee for women and youth cases was reported to the Police Investigation Reform Committee in early August.

"It is a process in which committee members hear directly from those involved in a case before it goes up to the full review committee for a second look," a Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency official said.

The Seongbuk-gu case involving the death of the 44-month-old girl is widely expected to be the first case taken up by the new subcommittee. The girl, identified only as A, died in June 2019. Police at the time investigated the possibility of child abuse but closed the case after finding no evidence of criminal wrongdoing. When the case resurfaced in public debate earlier this year, police launched a pre-indictment inquiry. That inquiry was also closed in April after no new evidence emerged.

The family filed a request for an investigation review with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Monday, arguing there were signs of abuse — including the detection of capsaicin in A's blood during an autopsy — and asking that the adequacy of the original investigation be reassessed. Under normal procedures, parties to a case must file a review request within 90 days of receiving notice that the case has been closed.

The Seongbuk-gu case missed that deadline. Even so, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency is expected to refer the question of whether an exception can be made — and whether the case can be placed on the full committee's agenda — to the subcommittee for a decision. "Because this is a case drawing significant public attention, we are reviewing a plan to have committee members weigh in rather than simply dismissing the review request outright," an agency official said.

A national workshop on women and youth investigations held at the Korean National Police Agency in 2024. [Yonhap]
A national workshop on women and youth investigations held at the Korean National Police Agency in 2024. [Yonhap]

Police bolster review function as question marks pile up over investigations

The women and youth division within police operates separately from the criminal investigation unit and reports through a different chain of command. Staffing at the women and youth desks of local police stations has long been chronically short, even as the number of cases requiring attention grows each year. Critics have also pointed to a relative lack of oversight mechanisms to check whether investigations are being conducted properly and lawfully — factors identified as contributing to delays and lower quality in the handling of such cases.

"Women and youth investigations at the regional police agency level are not supervised by the criminal investigation division, so there has always been talk of a less rigorous filtering process compared with ordinary criminal cases," an official from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's investigation review unit said. "Criminal and investigative cases go through the review unit and are verified by the review committee, but women and youth cases at individual police stations have been handled separately."

In the second half of this year, police reorganized and expanded the investigation review structure alongside the introduction of the women and youth subcommittee. Investigation review units previously housed under the investigation divisions of regional police agencies nationwide were all upgraded to full investigation review divisions, each to be led by a superintendent-level chief. The move is intended to strengthen oversight and verification of frontline investigations. "The assignment of division chiefs is planned to proceed in conjunction with the second-half superintendent personnel reshuffle," a Korean National Police Agency official said.


jookapooka@heraldcorp.com