Human rights body orders police to stop letting junior officers conduct suspect interrogations

A practice in which lower-ranking police officers — legally classified as investigative assistants — conduct suspect interrogations on their own has persisted across police stations nationwide, a review has found. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea has stepped in, issuing a formal policy recommendation to the Korean National Police Agency to bring its internal rules into line with the Criminal Procedure Act. The disclosure comes amid a separate controversy on Jeju Island, where a detective of corporal rank was found to have unilaterally closed a missing-persons case. Police said they are reviewing possible rule changes.

According to police and the rights commission, the commission recommended on July 10 that the police commissioner general amend Article 39 of the Police Investigation Rules, which governs who may prepare suspect interrogation records, to conform with the Criminal Procedure Act. Under the act, officers at the rank of inspector or above are designated "judicial police officers" — the principal investigators — while sergeants, corporals and constables are classified as "judicial police assistants" with a supporting role only.

The rights commission found that Article 39 of the Police Investigation Rules is open to interpretation as permitting all "judicial police personnel" — a term that encompasses both officers and assistants — to prepare suspect interrogation records, creating a conflict with the higher-ranking statute.

Before issuing the recommendation, the commission had investigated a case from last year in which a constable attached to a police station in South Jeolla Province independently interrogated a suspect on fraud charges and prepared the interrogation record under the constable's own name. The original complaint alleged that the interrogation had been conducted in an open interview room, raising concerns that the contents could be overheard. The commission dismissed that complaint, finding no actual leak of personal information, but separately identified the constable's independent conduct of the interrogation as a distinct problem — concluding that an investigative assistant had in effect exercised the authority of a judicial police officer.

The problem is difficult to dismiss as an isolated exception at one station. Multiple frontline officers said it is common for sergeants and lower-ranking colleagues to conduct suspect interrogations themselves on cases assigned to them.

"A senior officer reviews the work, but if someone below sergeant rank is experienced enough, they often handle suspect interrogations on their own," said one frontline officer in northern Seoul. "There simply aren't enough inspectors to conduct every interrogation."

Police staffing data bear out that reality. Of the 131,399 sworn officers on the force, constables number 38,534, corporals 31,404 and sergeants 28,787 — meaning officers at sergeant rank or below total 98,725, or about 75 percent of the entire force. Inspectors account for 17,497 and lieutenants for 11,056, together making up about 21 percent.

In investigative units the share of junior officers can be even higher. "In some investigation teams, more than 80 percent of the members are constables, corporals or sergeants, and the reality is that they are the ones preparing interrogation records," said one police investigation team leader. The team leader added that all cases go through an approval process via the Criminal Justice Information System, with team leaders, section chiefs and judicial police officers reviewing them at multiple stages.

The head of an investigation division at a police station in northeastern Seoul echoed the concern. "The volume of incoming cases is simply too high for judicial police officers to handle everything in practice," the official said. "With so many members below sergeant rank, it is operationally difficult to comply fully with the rights commission's recommendation."

The Korean National Police Agency stressed that what matters is whether judicial police officers exercise genuine supervision and oversight. "Judicial police assistants are required to support judicial police officers, and preparing interrogation records is not in itself procedurally improper," an official at the National Investigation Headquarters said. "However, doing so independently is a problem, and substantive supervision must be in place."

The issue had already been raised in 2024, when the rights commission issued a formal opinion calling for an amendment to the Police Investigation Rules. When conditions on the ground failed to improve, the commission escalated on July 10, issuing a policy recommendation to the police commissioner general — a stronger instrument. "Unlike a formal opinion, a policy recommendation requires the police agency to respond within 90 days on whether it has been implemented," a rights commission official said. "Because the same problem has continued at the frontline level, we decided this time to issue a policy recommendation."

The Korean National Police Agency has begun reviewing a rule revision. "We are currently discussing and examining the matter," an official at the agency's Investigation Structure Reform Team said, adding that the question has also emerged as a key issue in broader discussions on investigative procedure guidelines. The official cautioned, however, that abruptly requiring judicial police officers to handle everything without exception would create practical problems, and said the agency is taking into account the large number of judicial police assistants currently working in the field.

The Korean National Police Agency is scheduled to appear before the rights commission next month to report on the status of its review. "We will attend and present our findings on this matter," the Investigation Structure Reform Team official said.

Voices from the field say that alongside any rule revision, a serious rethinking of staffing levels and operational arrangements will be needed if investigations are to function properly while respecting due process. "There is real anxiety about how many cases currently handled by prosecutors will eventually be transferred to police, and what that will mean for our workload," said the head of an investigation division at a Seoul police station. "If cases pile on top of existing duties, frontline officers will bear the full brunt. We need to manage retention, identify capable people early and train them so they are ready to step in."