Officers to be designated at police stations nationwide Tuesday
Police will launch a "field consultation support task force" Tuesday to provide legal advice to frontline investigators, ahead of the Oct. 2 transition to a new criminal justice system under which prosecutors lose their investigative authority.
The Korean National Police Agency said Monday it was taking "preemptive measures to minimize confusion over the interpretation of laws and regulations that may arise in the field during the early stages of the new criminal justice system, and to help the amended legislation take root."
The TF will be headquartered at the National Investigation Headquarters building in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, and will operate in three tiers, with dedicated personnel assigned to police stations and provincial police agencies nationwide. Each local station will designate officers responsible for specific functions — including criminal investigations, women and youth affairs, and traffic — as well as a liaison for the Criminal Justice Information System, known as KICS. Cases that cannot be resolved at the station level after an initial consultation will be escalated to the provincial agency and then to the National Investigation Headquarters.
"We plan to respond swiftly and consistently to questions from the field throughout the implementation of the amended law," a police agency official said.
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