National Investigation Headquarters distributes revised criminal procedure guidelines on Sept. 10
South Korea's police introduced a recusal system to prevent officers from shielding family members under investigation, but retired officers are exempt from the moment they leave the force, it has emerged.
The Korean National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters distributed revised criminal procedure investigation guidelines on Sept. 10 containing the provision. The guidelines state that retired police officers do not currently hold a police position and therefore do not fall under the scope of the recusal system's avoidance request.
Under the system, active-duty officers who worked at the police station where a family member's case was filed within the past three years are subject to recusal, with the case transferred to another station. Retired officers, however, face no such restriction from the moment they leave the force — a gap that critics say could allow former officers to exploit internal connections to interfere in investigations or receive preferential treatment.
The guidelines also specify that the National Police Agency headquarters and metropolitan and provincial police agencies apply the recusal system not across the entire agency but at the level of superintendent-grade divisions and units. "For police stations, the standard is the station as a whole; for headquarters and metropolitan and provincial agencies, the standard is superintendent-grade divisions and units, taking into account staffing and organizational size," the guidelines state. Belonging to the same metropolitan or provincial agency alone is not sufficient to trigger the recusal system.
As a result, even if an officer at a metropolitan or provincial agency is a family member or associate of someone involved in a case handled by the same agency, the recusal and transfer rules do not apply unless the officer belongs to the specific division or unit handling the case and has worked there within the past three years.
Cases being investigated directly by headquarters or metropolitan and provincial agencies could also be sent down to local police stations under the recusal system. The guidelines state that headquarters and metropolitan and provincial agencies transfer cases at the superintendent-grade division and unit level, but may also send them to a local station depending on the nature of the case.
A Korean National Police Agency official said the exclusion of retired officers was deliberate. "The Jang Yun-gi case was a problem involving active-duty officers, and expanding the recusal system to cover retired officers was never discussed or reviewed from the outset," the official said.
The official added that retired officers are still prohibited from making inquiries about cases, and that a decision on whether to expand the scope of the recusal system would be made after monitoring how the current implementation unfolds.
The recusal system, which took effect this month, applies when a spouse, lineal relative, or sibling of an officer at the investigating station is a party to the case. Parties to a case include not only suspects, accused persons, and those subject to complaints or petitions, but also victims, complainants, accusers, petitioners and those who have submitted written appeals. Individuals who are merely witnesses with no grounds to be considered connected to a criminal offense are not treated as parties to the case.
The recusal system was introduced following allegations that police had systematically covered up the case of Jang Yun-gi, who was convicted of murdering a high school girl in Gwangju. In June, supplementary investigations by prosecutors revealed indications that Jang's father, a senior police official, had colluded with the police investigation team to destroy evidence and minimize the charges against his son, triggering widespread public outrage. Police subsequently announced a series of internal reform measures, including the recusal system. Officers who led the investigation team are currently on trial on charges including destruction of evidence.
arin@heraldcorp.com
