Case Explained: The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s public crime investigation team, which is investigating indep.. – Legal Perspective

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s public crime investigation team, which is investigating independent lawmaker Kang Sun-woo and others, recently added a large number of lawyers. It is understood that the intention is to break through the criticism of the late investigation with investigative personnel with legal expertise.

On the 20th, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s public crime investigation team summoned independent lawmaker Kang Sun-woo, who is suspected of receiving 100 million won in nomination donations. This is 22 days after the transcript of discussing nomination donations with former floor leader Kim Byung-ki, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, was released late last year.

Representative Kang said at the Mapo Office of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, “I am truly sorry for causing concern to the people. I will sincerely investigate, he said. “I have the principles of my life and have lived a life that follows those principles.”

The police investigation is being criticized as a slow investigation. After the recording file of Kang and former floor leader Kim discussing the issue of nomination donations was released, Seoul Metropolitan Council member Kim Kyung left for the U.S. as if to show. Councilman Kim entered the country only on the 11th, 13 days after the transcript was released, and was investigated.

In response, the police were criticized for failing to prevent councilman Kim from leaving the country and buying time to destroy evidence. Some estimate that officials have already finished kissing each other.

In addition, the police received 30 million won from former floor leader Kim in November last year It has not investigated the petitions of former aides who revealed that they returned them for more than two months. In addition, the allegation that former floor leader Kim’s spouse, identified only by his surname Lee, privately misappropriated the corporate card of the Dongjak-gu Council in 2022 was not launched until 17 months after the internal investigation was completed.

Inside the police, there are many voices pointing to the lack of legal expertise of the police investigation team as the reason for the delay in the investigation. It takes a considerable amount of time to review the legal challenges of the investigation. In the past, there was no problem when conducting the investigation with legal advice from the prosecution, but it takes time to review unfamiliar legal issues after adjusting the investigation rights.

As criticism continued, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s public crime investigation team established an investigation support group on the 16th, adding more investigative personnel. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s public crime investigation team has added a total of seven people, including an investigation support team and a legal support team, to the investigation support team. The newly created investigation support team is a task force to analyze the investigation situation so that the existing investigation team can focus on the investigation. A legal support team consisting of four lawyers will review the legal principles, while analyzing statements and reviewing various documents such as forced investigations.

There is also a great concern that the same problem could arise at the Serious Crime Investigation Agency (Central Office), which will be established in October. Therefore, it is analyzed that an investigative judge with a lawyer’s license is needed like a bill made by the government. Jang Young-soo, a professor at Korea University’s Graduate School of Law, said, “The delay in the police’s investigation is ultimately a problem caused by a lack of legal expertise,” adding, “We need to supplement legal expertise by accepting the newly established investigators of the Central District Office as former prosecutors.”

However, as there are not many police officers with a lawyer’s license in the current police organization, most investigative judges are likely to be filled with former prosecutors. In this case, it is a task to solve that there is a possibility that cooperation with police-turned-investigators may not work well.

Another reason is the limitations of the police, which are vulnerable to the influence of political power that holds the right to personnel affairs. “Structurally, the police have no choice but to look at the political power,” said Lee Woong-hyuk, a police professor at Konkuk University. “The police’s limitation is that they could be disadvantaged if they actively investigate while maintaining the independence of the investigation.” Investigators at the Central Administration also pointed out that this area needs to be supplemented as it is bound to be vulnerable to external pressure from political power.

[Reporter Yang Seho / Reporter Beat Kyung]