South Korean police oversight and reform

A nationwide investigation by the South Korean National Police Agency identified 117 cases involving the families of active-duty officers. The findings revealed a systemic lack of oversight, as the agency previously lacked a separate tracking system for incidents involving officers’ relatives. This allowed cases to be managed by local stations without organizational awareness unless an officer voluntarily requested recusal, a practice that has seen minimal official requests over the last six and a half years.

In response, the Korean National Police Agency announced measures to enhance independence and prevent local ties from influencing internal oversight. This includes the implementation of a ‘sangpi’ system, which ensures that officers in charge of audit and human rights at provincial agencies are appointed from outside their respective regions. To manage changes to the Criminal Procedure Act and increase workload capacity, the agency will establish dedicated departments at headquarters and provincial levels to oversee supplementary investigation requests from prosecutors. Furthermore, the agency plans to reinforce investigation review units and establish a new internal corruption investigation unit under the National Investigation Headquarters, staffed by approximately 40 personnel.

Expanding its technical response to modern threats, the police have also implemented a ‘three-tier response system’ to combat deepfake crimes. This system utilizes AI-based detection software, forensic analysis of digital tools, and secondary verification by forensic video analysts. This technical approach has been utilized in over 1,600 investigations this year, resulting in the arrest of 419 suspects involved in deepfake-related crimes.