"Police Stations Rated Like Restaurants?"... Police Map Launches, Letting Users Rate Investigators

Private Site Police Map Publishes Ratings for Each Police Station
Citizens Who Have Gone Through Investigations Rate Police on Five Categories
"Most Cases Begin and End at the Police Stage... Records Are Needed"

A so-called "police station review site" has emerged, allowing users to rate police stations just as they would restaurants. Citizens who have personally gone through an investigation can rate the assigned investigator's conduct and the speed of case handling on a five-point scale.

"Records, Not Punishment, Matter"... Police Rating Platform Launches

A website has emerged where citizens who have personally experienced an investigation can rate the investigating officer's conduct and the speed of case handling. The official website of Police Map.

According to the website Police Map on November 5, it describes itself as a "public participation platform for evaluating investigative agencies." It reportedly opened after the revised Criminal Procedure Act took effect in October, and is believed to be run by ordinary citizens. Based on public data from the National Police Agency, the site appears to list 263 police stations and 2,688 investigative departments across the country.

Users who have gone through investigative procedures, including complainants, accusers, lawyers and witnesses, can rate their experience out of five in five categories: fairness, compliance with procedures, conduct during questioning, communication and response, and speed. If they enter the assigned investigator's name, part of it is hidden, as in "Kim * Su." A separate "Case Public Discussion" board lets users post about problems they encountered during an investigation and seek support from other users. The site also has a menu explaining official remedies, including filing a complaint with the e-People portal, requesting an investigator's recusal, seeking an investigation review, and petitioning the National Human Rights Commission of Korea.

As of November 5, the site had only around 10 reviews and posts. The sole post on the Case Public Discussion board had received 790 supportive reactions. It described a fraud case filed after the writer was not paid, which the police had decided not to refer to prosecutors. The writer said, "I cannot understand how the case was handled, in addition to the delays in the investigation." A user who said they had filed a simple assault complaint against a serving police officer also gave the police station a rating of 1.8, claiming that "the police station's inspector urged me to settle the matter quietly."

The site said, "For the public interest of enhancing transparency in the performance of public duties, we deal only with information related to official conduct and do not publish private information." Posts reported by at least five different members are automatically made private, and if an investigator requests deletion or correction, the post is temporarily made private immediately. Posts accompanied by supporting documents are marked "Evidence Verified," but the site said this only confirms that documents were submitted and does not guarantee the truth of their contents. It also states that authors are personally responsible for their posts under the law.

The site said it was launched because "since the adjustment of investigative authority, most cases begin and end at the police stage" and "there has been no tool for citizens to monitor and record that process." It added, "Records, not punishment, change the system," saying it aims to increase trust in outstanding police officers and identify recurring problems early.

Police Handle Investigations From Start to Finish... Revised Criminal Procedure Act Takes Effect

The Central Major Crimes Investigation Agency in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 2nd, one month after the revised Criminal Procedure Act took effect. The law abolishes the prosecution service and fully separates investigations from indictments. Yonhap News

The revised Criminal Procedure Act, which took effect on October 2, separates investigations from prosecutions in line with the abolition of the prosecution service and the launch of the Public Prosecution Office and the Major Crimes Investigation Agency. With prosecutors no longer conducting supplementary investigations directly, the police have taken responsibility for general criminal investigations from start to finish. Prosecutors may request supplementary investigations from the police, who are generally required to comply within one month. For cases involving complaints or accusations, a decision on whether to refer the case to prosecutors must generally be made within three months. Objections can be raised if an investigation is delayed or conducted illegally or unfairly.

Concerns about delays in investigations continued ahead of the law's implementation. The People Power Party held an unlimited debate in the National Assembly plenary session to oppose the abolition of prosecutors' authority to conduct supplementary investigations. Legal experts warned that cases prosecutors could not handle might be transferred to the police all at once in the form of requests for supplementary investigations, creating a backlog, and that the so-called "prosecutor-police case ping-pong," in which cases pass back and forth between the two agencies, could worsen. Han Sang-hoon, a professor at Yonsei University Law School, told The Hankyoreh, "Even if the police fail to meet the deadline for requests for supplementary investigations, it will be difficult to impose sanctions on them."

The government and police announced measures to address these concerns. In August, then-Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho said, "Although the new system was designed in good faith, unforeseen side effects and problems, or issues beyond what was anticipated, may arise as it operates in the field. If such problems emerge, we must swiftly address them and make any necessary revisions." Hong Seok-gi, head of the National Office of Investigation at the National Police Agency, said, "We will consult with prosecutors to obtain their expert assessments and advice on cases, and work to make cases more complete when we initially send them to the Public Prosecution Office."

In September, the National Police Agency announced plans to establish departments at provincial and metropolitan police agencies nationwide dedicated to managing cases subject to requests for supplementary investigations, have police chiefs directly oversee such cases, and assign legal experts to frontline police stations. An official at the National Office of Investigation said, "We will manage the process thoroughly to ensure that no requests from prosecutors are overlooked or left unfulfilled."

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