President Lee calls for dismissal of police officers who manipulate cases under new investigative powers

President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday called for dramatically tougher disciplinary measures and stronger independent internal oversight within the police force to prevent misconduct — including case cover-ups and favoritism toward fellow officers — as police prepare to assume full investigative closure authority following prosecutorial reform. Lee said officers found to have manipulated cases or committed other serious violations should face dismissal or be barred from public service entirely.

Speaking at a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Lee cited public anxiety over the restructuring of investigative powers. "Through prosecutorial reform, the prosecution has been completely stripped of its investigative authority, and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the police will now handle investigations," he said. "From the public's perspective, there is a great deal of concern that police may not handle cases properly or that victims may not receive adequate relief."

Lee directly addressed a recent string of police misconduct allegations. "In practice, because the police force is so large, reports keep surfacing that police family members have destroyed evidence, buried cases or handled them improperly — and this keeps becoming a matter of public attention," he said. "We need to minimize this."

He said disciplinary standards for the police, who will soon hold the authority to close investigations, must be raised dramatically. "Once police have the power to close cases, if they manipulate them or do something like that — and this is just my personal view — the punishment should be dismissal or a ban from police work altogether. A light reprimand simply does not make sense," Lee said. "Keeping disciplinary standards at the same level as before is not appropriate." He added that criminal penalties must also be strengthened. "Accountability must be made clear — that is what will reduce such incidents going forward and change the organizational culture," he said.

Lee also directed officials to build a self-correcting system within the police, given how difficult it is for outside bodies to oversee the force. "We need to think hard about how to strengthen the internal audit function and make it operate independently," he said. "As responsibility grows significantly, there must be a thorough in-house system to ensure fair and objective investigations and to correct wrongdoing when it occurs. Primary responsibility normally lies with the internal audit function."

Prime Minister Han Seong-sook said in response that a police reform committee is being organized under the prime minister's office and will launch between late September and early October. "We will continue to explain reform proposals to the public as they emerge from the relevant discussions," she said.

Closing the meeting, Lee said police reform is a matter of broad public attention and that the sweeping systemic changes involved have generated considerable worry about potential side effects. "We need to pay special attention to those concerns — both by putting the right systems in place and by ensuring they are operated well in practice," he said.