More than 650 commanders nationwide gather for leadership meeting

Agency steels itself as new criminal justice framework takes effect

Police commanders from across the country salute the national flag at the National Police Investigation Commanders' Meeting held at the Korean National Police Agency headquarters in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on Thursday. The meeting was convened to reaffirm the agency's commitment to successfully establishing a new criminal justice framework, with the protection of citizens' rights and victims as its top priority. [Yonhap]
Police commanders from across the country salute the national flag at the National Police Investigation Commanders' Meeting held at the Korean National Police Agency headquarters in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on Thursday. The meeting was convened to reaffirm the agency's commitment to successfully establishing a new criminal justice framework, with the protection of citizens' rights and victims as its top priority. [Yonhap]

More than 650 police commanders from across the country gathered at the Korean National Police Agency headquarters Thursday, one day before a revised Code of Criminal Procedure takes effect that fully separates prosecutors' investigative and indictment functions. Acting Police Commissioner General Kim Jong-cheol announced at the meeting that the agency would operate an "emergency response posture" for the time being.

The agency convened the National Police Investigation Commanders' Meeting at its headquarters in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on Thursday afternoon. "The public is watching with a stern eye to see whether police have sufficient investigative capacity and whether they exercise their authority fairly and with restraint," Kim said. "We will ensure that outcomes do not vary depending on the station or the investigator."

He also said the agency would establish a new investigative paradigm in which victim protection is the foremost principle of every investigation.

Going forward, the agency will operate a layered oversight system in which police station chiefs review the status of major cases and cases requested by prosecutors on a daily basis, with metropolitan and provincial agencies and the National Investigation Headquarters conducting overlapping checks. The agency will also strengthen victim rights procedures — including how victims are interviewed and what follow-up measures are taken — and put in place a structure for keeping all parties fully informed of case progress. The moves are intended to ensure transparency as police take on greater investigative influence following prosecutors' withdrawal from investigations.

Kim also put officers on notice against misconduct. He said case fabrication, deliberate suppression of investigations, or accepting money or other benefits in exchange for favors to parties involved in a case would be met as a rule with the most severe disciplinary measures, including removal from office or dismissal.

"All 140,000 officers will give their utmost so that every case leads citizens to feel they were right to trust the police," Kim said.

The agency organized Thursday's event to steel police resolve ahead of the new criminal justice era. It was the first time since August 2024 that hundreds of commanders at the rank of police station chief or above had gathered in one place. The headquarters was packed wall to wall as officers converged from across the country.

President Lee Jae Myung, at a Cabinet meeting held Tuesday, said that through prosecutorial reform "all investigative authority has been stripped from prosecutors, with the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and police now taking over investigations," and expressed concern that "from the public's perspective, there are many worries that police may not handle cases properly or that problems could arise in providing relief to victims." He called on police to investigate with a strong sense of responsibility.


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