Distrust in Police Over Rise in Appeals?…Only About 2% of Decisions Actually Overturned

'A Surge in Appeals,' But Only 2% Overturned

Case Processing Periods Back to Pre-Authority Adjustment Levels

Statistics indicating a longer time taken to process cases and a surge in appeals against police decisions have been used as indicators of insufficient investigative capacity within the police force. However, in reality, the rate at which prosecutorial decisions overturned police judgments has remained at only about 2%. The average case processing period has also returned to levels seen prior to the adjustment of investigative authority.

Experts have pointed out that fostering distrust toward investigative agencies by ignoring the context and implications of these figures can undermine front-line investigations and even lead to the denial of proper investigative outcomes.

'Explosion' in Police Objections? ... Rate of Overturned Decisions Remains Around 2%

National Police Agency, Seoul Seodaemun-gu. Photo by Jinhyung Kang

According to the National Police Agency on July 28, there were 56,165 appeals by complainants against non-indictment decisions last year, more than double the 27,262 cases in 2021. Some interpret this surge in appeals as evidence that police lack investigative capability. In fact, the number of cases where prosecutors overturned police decisions increased. The number of cases in which prosecutors either directly conducted supplementary investigations or requested additional investigation from the police before prosecution rose from 528 cases in 2021 to 1,130 cases last year.

However, the outlook changes when considering the rate. Excluding the timing of individual case closures, the percentage of appeals where prosecutors converted non-indictment decisions into indictments was 1.9% in 2021 and 2.0% last year—essentially unchanged. While appeals surged by tens of thousands, the proportion of cases where the police's investigative conclusions were overturned remained just around 2%.

The background behind the explosion in appeals includes not only issues of trust in police investigations, but also institutional factors. The "universal acceptance of complaints" policy implemented in 2023 required the acceptance of complaints and accusations that, in the past, would have been rejected for not meeting requirements. The number of complaints and accusations received via the Police Criminal Justice Information System (KICS) increased sharply from 403,793 cases in 2021 to 677,979 cases in 2024, after the new policy was introduced, and further to 718,330 cases last year.

Because the number of complaints and accusations subject to investigation increased significantly, it is difficult to conclude that the spike in appeals alone reflects insufficient investigative capacity. A staff member from a local police station's integrated investigation team explained, "From the complainant's perspective, it might be advantageous if the case remains open. In many cases, rather than legal error, dissatisfaction with the investigative outcome or the desire to keep the opposing party's suspect status active motivates continued criminal proceedings."

Investigation Delays Recover to Pre-Adjustment Levels

Following the adjustment of investigative authority, which ended prosecutorial supervision of police investigations, the police acquired the right to close cases at their discretion. As they were now able to close cases previously sent to the prosecution, their workload increased significantly. Additionally, the introduction of the new appeal procedure for non-indictment decisions allowed prosecutors to request reinvestigation if a decision was deemed unlawful or unjust. Structurally, this means even more time would inevitably be required for case processing.

However, much of the investigation delays have been resolved. According to documents obtained by The Asia Business Daily regarding efforts to strengthen police investigative capacity, the police's average case processing period last month was 56.4 days. Although it peaked at 67.7 days in 2022, it has since dropped to 55.6 days, close to the pre-authority-adjustment level of 2020. For cases in which prosecutors requested supplementary or reinvestigations, the processing period decreased nearly by half to 57.5 days last month, compared to a maximum of 110.1 days in 2023.

The number of long-pending cases—those left unprocessed for more than six months after prosecutors requested supplementary or reinvestigations—reached 13,681 cases in 2022, a year after the shift in investigative authority. By last month, that figure had fallen to 939 cases, a reduction of 93.1%.

Since the adjustment to investigative authority, the police have strengthened their investigative staff by 4,511 people (a net increase of 1,854) over about five years up to the first half of this year. Since the inauguration of the Lee Jaemyung administration, an additional 1,900 or so officers have been appointed—about 1,000 to integrated investigation teams alone. A National Police Agency official stated, "We plan to increase the investigative workforce by an additional 900 people through net recruitment or redeployment in the second half of this year. In addition to improving the command and management system for cases, we are continuously enhancing investigative capacity through such measures as the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.