Acting police chief reaffirms efforts for investigative reform

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SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's acting police chief on Monday reaffirmed efforts for investigative reform, including possibly increasing the number of investigators, in the wake of high-profile cases of police's alleged misconduct.

The police last week launched a dedicated body to spearhead sweeping organizational reforms, following the recent revision to the Criminal Procedure Act that will transfer all investigative power to police from the prosecution.

The move, however, also comes amid recent scrutiny over the cases of alleged misconduct, including an improperly closed missing person case on the southern island of Jeju.

"There were faults made (at the scene) and also the problem of the system that failed to identify them, as well as the leadership's responsibility, which (I) take seriously and will correct," Kim Jong-chul, acting head of the National Police Agency, said in a briefing.

The missing person case on Jeju sparked public outcry after a police officer was found to have closed the case without confirming the safety of a missing woman. Her body was found last month, about three months after she was first reported missing in May.

Kim Jong-chul, acting head of the National Police Agency, speaks during a meeting with investigators at a police station in northeastern Seoul on Sept. 10, 2026. (Yonhap)

Kim said the agency is considering increasing the number of police investigators, if necessary, to reduce their workload, noting a single investigator handled 134 cases on average last year.

It is also looking into using artificial intelligence (AI) or employing retired police officers for simple, repetitive tasks, he said.

The remarks came a day after ruling Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok called for stronger police reform in a meeting with government officials.

The acting police chief said the police have yet to find any fraudulently closed missing person cases in their reexamination of around 310,000 such cases over the past three years following public criticism for the police's handling of the Jeju case.

The police have so far examined around 128,000 cases and plan to complete reviewing all of them by November.

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr (END)

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Acting police chief reaffirms efforts for investigative reform

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首尔，9月14日（韩联社）——韩国代理警察总长周一重申了调查改革的努力，包括可能增加调查人员的数量，此前发生了一系列备受瞩目的警察不当行为指控案件。

上周，警方成立了一个专门机构，以牵头进行全面的组织改革。此前，《刑事诉讼法》进行了修订，将所有侦查权从检方移交给了警方。

然而，此举也正值近期有关不当行为案件受到审查之际，其中包括济州岛南部一起失踪人口案件被不当结案。

“现场出现了失误，系统也未能识别出这些失误，领导层也负有责任，我对此高度重视，并将予以纠正。”国家警察厅代理厅长金钟哲在新闻发布会上表示。

济州岛一名女子失踪案引发公众强烈抗议，起因是一名警官被发现未确认失踪女子的安全就结案。该女子于上个月被找到，距离她5月份首次被报失踪已过去了大约三个月。

2026年9月10日，韩国国家警察厅代理厅长金钟哲在首尔东北部某警察局与调查人员会面时发表讲话。（韩联社）

金表示，如有必要，该机构正在考虑增加警探人数以减轻他们的工作量，并指出去年一名警探平均要处理 134 起案件。

他还表示，他们也在考虑使用人工智能（AI）或雇用退休警官来执行简单、重复性的任务。

此前一天，执政党共同民主党主席金珉锡在与政府官员的会议上呼吁加强警务改革。

代理警察总长表示，在公众批评警方处理济州岛失踪人口案件的方式后，警方对过去三年中约 31 万起失踪人口案件进行了重新审查，但尚未发现任何以欺诈手段结案的失踪人口案件。

警方目前已审查了约 128,000 起案件，并计划在 11 月之前完成所有案件的审查。

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr (完)

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