Police Orders for Supplementary Investigations and Reinvestigations Surge Ninefold, but No Statistics on Investigative Errors

Share of cases ordered for supplementary investigations or reinvestigations rises to 14.9%
Jin Jong-oh: "Investigative errors must be tracked systematically"

As the number of requests for review of police investigations and the number of requests granted continue to rise, orders for supplementary investigations or reinvestigations have increased more than ninefold this year compared with 2021. Nevertheless, police do not appear to separately track the number of cases in which investigative errors were acknowledged or the breakdown by type, figures they used to compile.

Jin Jong-oh, a People Power Party lawmaker on the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee

According to data from the Korean National Police Agency obtained by Jin Jong-oh, a People Power Party lawmaker on the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, requests for review of police investigations rose about threefold, from 2,131 in 2021 to 6,223 last year. A total of 5,675 requests had been filed through August this year, approaching last year's full-year total. The number of cases actually reviewed also increased, from 2,131 in 2021 to 6,100 last year. The number of cases in which requests were granted after reviewers determined that further action was needed also rose, reaching 970 through August this year and surpassing last year's full-year total of 877.

In particular, the number of cases in which an order for a supplementary investigation or reinvestigation was issued among those in which requests were granted rose from 80 in 2021 to 711 last year. This year, from January through August, the figure reached 735, about 9.2 times the 2021 level. The share of all cases processed through review that resulted in an order for a supplementary investigation or reinvestigation also climbed, from 3.8% in 2021 to 14.9% this year. In other words, while such orders were issued in 4 out of every 100 cases reviewed in 2021, the number has risen to 15 this year.

The problem is that while police track the number of cases by type of action taken following an investigation review, they do not compile data on the number of cases in which they actually acknowledged investigative errors or on the breakdown by type. Police used to track cases in which investigative errors were acknowledged, but they no longer maintain related statistics. Since a request being granted or an order for a supplementary investigation or reinvestigation being issued does not necessarily mean that an investigative error has been acknowledged, the current statistics are insufficient.

Pointing to past changes to investigation review systems and organizational names during police reform efforts, Rep. Jin said, "True reform should begin not by changing uncomfortable terminology, but by recognizing and correcting one's own mistakes." He added, "The police should systematically track the number of cases in which investigative errors are acknowledged and the types of errors, analyze their causes, and use the findings to make substantive improvements to investigations."

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