Unauthorized access, leaks of police investigation data surpass last year's full-year total in first half of 2026

The number of police officers caught illegally accessing the Korea Information System of Criminal Justice Services, known as KICS, or leaking investigation data already exceeded last year's full-year total in just the first half of this year, according to data released Friday.

Of the cases that have been resolved, eight out of 10 ended with only a caution, warning or quiet dismissal — falling short of formal disciplinary action.

People Power Party lawmaker Seo Myeong-ok of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee disclosed the figures Friday, citing data obtained from the Korean National Police Agency. A total of 171 cases of unauthorized KICS access or investigation data leaks were detected between April 2021, when the police investigative audit unit was established, and June this year.

The annual breakdown shows 93 cases in 2021, 13 in 2022, 21 in 2023, 12 in 2024 and 14 last year. This year, 18 cases were detected in the first half alone — four more than the full-year total for last year.

Of all cases detected over the past five and a half years, 93 involved leaking investigation data and 78 involved unauthorized KICS access.

Of the 18 cases detected this year, 17 involved investigation data leaks and one involved unauthorized KICS access.

Setting aside 24 cases still under review, the outcomes of the remaining 147 cases show that 91 resulted in a caution or warning and 27 were closed without any action. Only 29 cases led to formal disciplinary measures.

In total, 118 cases — 80.3 percent of those resolved — were closed without formal discipline.

Among those disciplined, 18 received heavy penalties including removal from office, dismissal, demotion or suspension. Four officers received pay cuts and seven received reprimands.

By regional police agency, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency recorded the most cases at 51, accounting for 29.8 percent of the total. It was followed by the Daegu agency with 20 cases, the Gyeonggi Northern agency with 16, the Busan and Gyeonggi Southern agencies with 13 each, and the Incheon agency with 10. One case of investigation data leakage was also detected at the Korean National Police Agency headquarters.

Among specific cases, a Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency officer assigned to the wide-area investigation unit was removed from office in 2021 after leaking search and seizure information to a former officer.

In 2022, an officer at the Ilsandongbu Police Station under the Gyeonggi Northern Police Agency was demoted after passing investigation details to a complainant. In 2023, an officer at Seoul's Suseo Police Station received a pay cut after leaking victim information to a journalist.

In 2024, an officer at Daegu's Seongseo Police Station was demoted for leaking investigation documents to a former officer. Last year, an officer at South Jeolla Province's Boseong Police Station received a reprimand for disclosing a complainant's criminal record during a search and seizure.

In 2021, 75 cases of unauthorized KICS access were detected, including 60 officers who looked up the case involving former Vice Minister of Justice Lee Yong-gu's assault on a taxi driver without any work-related purpose.

"Rather than relying solely on after-the-fact detection, the access control and anomaly detection systems must be completely overhauled to block non-work-related queries at the source," Seo said.