Discussion on establishing a reasonable role for National Office of Investigation through revision (proposal)
Authors:   Institute of Legal Myungji Uiversity, Park Ho-Hyun , Lee Dong-weon 
Published: August 2023

The police is the government institution that considers the protection of people's lives, bodies and property as the most important task, but It is no exaggeration that past police organization were more faithful to their role as the handmaid of the government ruling over the people. However, the change of the times has led to change police organization, and furthermore, there have been continuous efforts to establish its role by itself. These changes make police organization recognize that the protection of people's human rights is their most important mission. While the police handles most of the criminal cases on the side of people, the prosecution exercises most of the authority in the criminal justice process. Prosecutors have been recognized as the principal investigators who instruct and order the police by being given authority over the entire criminal justice process, including the right to initiate an investigation, the right to terminate an investigation, the right to prosecute, and the right to claim a warrant. The police has expressed the need for a mutually equal and cooperative relationship with the prosecution rather than a top-down relationship, as a result of its efforts, the right to initiate an investigation was granted through amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act. Since then, with the revision of the Criminal Procedure Act, the Prosecutor's Office Act, and the Act on the Organization and Operation of National Police and Local Police, the police and the prosecution become a mutually cooperative relationship in substantial part. The police that had right to initiate an investigation, grants not only the primary right to terminate an investigation but also the right to terminate an investigation. In addition, anti-communist investigative functions which had been recognized as a unique task of the National Intelligence Service, was transferred to the police, and then it can have the most powerful authority after the establishment of it. When authority is concentrated in one institution, it might violate human rights of the people by abusing of its authority. In order that the police solve the problem of concentrated authority, the National Investigation Headquarters under the National Police Agency was established with the purpose of separating the administrative police and the judicial police. The National Investigation Headquarters functions as a control tower for investigations, instructing and supervising the chiefs of local police agencies in cities and provinces, and police officers in investigation-related departments. Because it was established under the National Police Agency rather than an independent agency, and the head of the headquarters is a lower rank officer than the Chief of the National Police Agency, it cannot be independently excluding instructions and orders of the Chief. In addition, the National Investigation Headquarters is established under the National Police Agency, so that the head of the headquarters cannot be in charge of the results of investigation-related matters according to regulations. For these reason, there are many difficulties for the National Investigation Headquarters to command 30,000 police officers while it maintains neutrality and independence. Therefore, it is necessary to promote the National Investigation Headquarters to the National Investigation Agency(tentative name) so that it can do perform as a control tower for investigation. In addition, the heads of each agencies should become same rank and promote minister class as like the prosecution, so that it will be able to investigate independently and each agencies should effort to practical mutual checks and cooperation. In addition, the head of the National Investigation Agency must to be included in the National Assembly personnel hearing procedure so that a head with the qualifications and ability to command 30,000 police officers has to be appointed.