Following the revision of the criminal procedure law last month, the number of supplementary investigation requests by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has slightly increased. The police assessed that the burden on frontline investigations is not significant.
At a regular press briefing held on November 2 at the Seoul Police Agency in Jongno, Police Chief Go Beom-seok stated that there has been no major confusion or concern detected in the field following the legal changes.
From January to September this year, the average monthly number of supplementary investigation requests was 75, which rose to 94 in October, an increase of 19 requests. This translates to an average increase of about 0.6 requests per police station among the 31 police stations under the Seoul Police Agency.
Chief Go explained that most of the supplementary investigation requests are related to clarifying facts or procedures rather than complex legal judgments.
The average monthly case intake, which is about 45,000, also saw a modest increase of approximately 1,000 cases (2%) in October compared to the previous month. Since the revision of the criminal procedure law, 37 cases have been transferred from prosecutors to the Seoul Police Agency for investigation.
To minimize confusion in the field due to the changes in the system, the Seoul Police Agency plans to enhance training for new investigators and will monitor issues arising from the revisions through its investigation review division.
During the briefing, the results of a comprehensive review of relationship crime cases were also disclosed. From October 19 to 30, the Seoul Police Agency reviewed 8,800 relationship crime cases in its jurisdiction.
Among these, there were 297 instances where arrest warrants were requested or offenders were detained for isolation. Additionally, 226 cases involved implementing safety measures for victims, such as private security, and 18 cases initiated pre-investigation inquiries.
Chief Go noted that no inappropriate handling of cases was found during this review. He added that after the previous inspections, the police have maintained contact with victims to assess any signs of danger and have implemented necessary protective measures.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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