Regarding Police Concealment in Assemblyman Kim Tae-gyu's Disappearance Case

Following the expansion of police investigative authority, serious problems are arising in the field due to insufficient increases in investigative personnel and a lack of deployment plans. Assemblyman Kim Tae-gyu pointed out that the situation is one where only workloads have been shifted without even determining how many investigative personnel will be added or how. This has led to criticism that it is an irresponsible administration that transfers all burdens to the police without any preparation.

Frontline police investigators are currently suffering from an excessive workload, raising concerns about a decline in investigative quality. Assemblyman Kim Tae-gyu stated that each investigator is already handling well over 100 cases, with some teams simultaneously processing 30 to 60 cases. This indicates an impending 'investigation tsunami,' reflecting a reality where proper investigations are difficult to expect.

The National Police Agency announced that it would reduce the riot police force and reassign hundreds to investigative departments, but criticism arose that this would not be a real increase in personnel but would rather create other public security gaps. Assemblyman Kim Tae-gyu warned that redistributing riot police could exacerbate the shortage of personnel in precinct offices and patrol divisions, leading to a collapse of public safety. As a result, concerns are growing that both investigative quality and public safety could be threatened.

Poor working conditions and a performance-oriented investigative culture are leading to an exodus from investigative departments and issues of lax discipline. Assemblyman Kim Tae-gyu quoted a police officer who said that cases pile up but all that comes back is overtime, explaining that investigators suffer from working without seeing their families properly, and under pressure from complaints, audits, and deadlines. In particular, the fear of handling re-sent cases after the abolition of the security investigation authority is further demoralizing investigators, leading to an increase in returned investigation results and departures from departments.

It was argued that three key demands must precede the successful establishment of investigative authority adjustment. First, a net increase in police personnel, professional investigative training, and practical improvements in treatment should take precedence over the speed of transferring full investigative authority to the police. It means that institutional designs to reduce case backlogs should be implemented first.

Second, opposition was expressed to the hasty abolition of checks and balances, emphasizing the importance of establishing safeguards to minimize the adverse effects of expanding police investigative authority. Finally, it was pointed out that current problems should not be approached in a way that stigmatizes the entire 140,000 police force as a failed organization. This means respecting the reality that the majority of police officers work with a sense of duty.

The recent Gwangju high school girl rape-murder manipulation and concealment case, and the Jeju missing person false conclusion case, have successively exposed problems within the police investigation system. Assemblyman Go Seok criticized these two cases for clearly demonstrating the laxity of the police organization's internal oversight and management system. These are not simple mistakes but raise serious suspicions of organizational concealment and manipulation.

The Jeju missing person false conclusion case was cited as an example demonstrating the collapse of the national public safety system. Assemblyman Choi Gi-sik stated that in the Jeju Ms. Jang's case, an investigator, without even initiating an investigation, falsely informed the caller that the person's safety was confirmed, then disguised it as a traffic accident and concluded the case. This incident revealed a severe absence of police investigative procedures, with even external filtering procedures being absent.

In the case of Mr. Jang, who went missing on May 12 and was found dead 101 days later, serious suspicions of false reporting and case concealment by the police have been raised. Assemblyman Ha Jong-dae stated that the responsible police officer lied, claiming contact with the missing person within 2 hours and 33 minutes of receiving the report, and falsely informed the caller that the person did not want their location revealed.

It was later revealed that the police officer falsely entered Mr. Jang as a traffic accident death in the internal missing person profiling system and deleted the case. It is suspected that similar cases handled by this officer amounted to 298, suggesting a widespread system gap. The failure of the investigation system was fully exposed, including the fact that no re-missing person report was filed.

The refusal of the Jeju Police Chief to meet with People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok and his delegation, who requested a public meeting to convey public concerns, sparked a controversy over police communication. Assemblyman Ha Jong-dae strongly criticized the Jeju Police Chief's refusal to meet, stating it demonstrates the police's arrogant attitude. This was criticized as an act of ignoring the public's voice.

In the Gwangju high school girl murder case, suspicions were raised that the perpetrator's father, a police officer, attempted to manipulate the case. Assemblyman Ha Jong-dae claimed that the police officer father tried to manipulate his son's carefully planned rape-murder into an accidental, simple murder. There were active acts of protection, such as destroying evidence like the perpetrator's cell phone and sharing the home password. It was pointed out that the severity of this is significant, as it was an attempt to reduce a rape-murder, which is subject to the death penalty, to a general murder.

Cases where the truth of a case, which the police tried to manipulate and conceal, was revealed through supplementary investigations by the prosecution were disclosed. Assemblyman Han Gil-yong stated that the perpetrator, who had claimed accidental crime for two months, confessed to a planned crime during the prosecution's supplementary investigation. The importance of prosecutorial investigation was highlighted by the fact that the truth of this case might have been buried forever if not for the prosecution's supplementary investigation.

As of October 2nd, the prosecution's supplementary investigative authority will be revoked, and prosecutors will only be able to request supplementary investigations from the police, raising concerns about investigation gaps. Assemblyman Kwon Soon-young emphasized that under this system, where investigations and case closures are exclusively handled by the police, effective means of oversight by independent external agencies will be lost. This warns of potential difficulties in controlling potential side effects and abuses of power that could arise from a police-exclusive investigative system.

It was argued that while the distribution and adjustment of power among investigative agencies are important in improving the criminal justice system, what is more crucial is the protection of citizens' lives and the elucidation of substantive truth. Assemblyman Seo Young-seok emphasized that an improved system should be more efficient and effective in uncovering substantive truth, achieving judicial justice, and truly protecting citizens' lives through the exercise of national punitive power. This implies that mutual checks and balances among investigative agencies should prioritize the protection of citizens' rights and safety.

It was pointed out that under the new criminal justice system, in addition to the police, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), National Medical Center (NMC), and special judicial police officers will exercise investigative powers, but there are no checks and balances among these investigative agencies. Assemblyman Lee Ju-hyeon emphasized that mutual checks and balances are absolutely necessary not only for the police but also among the various newly established investigative agencies.