Record number of officers apply for investigative track as police set to gain expanded powers

By Kim A-rin, The Herald Business

A record 10,296 officers have applied for this year's investigative track qualification exam, the Korean National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters announced Tuesday. The figure represents a 21 percent increase from the 8,490 applicants who registered the previous year.

The surge comes amid the planned abolition of the Prosecution Service in October, which will significantly expand police investigative authority. Analysts say the trend reflects growing interest among officers in joining investigative units.

The police introduced the investigative track system in 2005 to raise investigative expertise. Applicants sit exams covering criminal law, criminal procedure law and investigative practice. Those who pass undergo a prescribed training course before being granted investigative track status, which gives them priority placement in investigative units.

The National Investigation Headquarters said the rate of officers leaving investigative units has also been declining. The share of investigators who transferred to non-investigative posts stood at 10.6 percent in 2024, fell to 8.6 percent last year and has dropped further to 7.6 percent this year.

Newly recruited officers are also showing strong interest in investigative work. Of the 2,772 trainees in the 320th class at the Central Police Academy this year, 887 — roughly one-third — applied for the preliminary investigative track selection, a 23 percent increase over the previous class.

Some observers link the growing preference for investigative posts to improved working conditions since the establishment of integrated investigation teams in 2022, including reduced workloads and better overtime and allowance arrangements. "Since the integrated investigation teams were set up, overtime recognition and allowance compensation have been fairly good," one police official said.

The expansion of police investigative powers is also cited as a draw. An officer who obtained investigative track status last year said, "Since police gained the authority to close cases independently in 2021 and became more central to investigations, the track has become much more popular."

Earlier, acting Korean National Police Agency Commissioner Yoo Jae-seong said in a December work report that the agency would reduce personnel in riot control and mobile patrol units and redeploy them to investigative and public-safety roles. The National Investigation Headquarters has also added a total of 1,900 investigators over the past year, including 1,093 detectives assigned to integrated investigation teams at police stations handling everyday crimes.

The National Investigation Headquarters said it would "expand incentives for the continued influx of skilled investigative personnel and for long-term service, so that a system of accountable investigation that citizens can feel in their daily lives can be firmly established."