One in 5 police investigators avoids detective work as caseloads mount

"They tell us to develop police investigators — but the ones who want to hide will hide. Our organization has plenty of places to hide." — a section chief at a frontline detective unit

This month, a sweeping overhaul of the criminal justice system made police the sole investigative agency handling everyday criminal cases. Police have expanded their investigative capacity by adding 4,000 investigator positions this year alone, yet a reluctance to serve in detective units is being felt on the ground.

When the prosecution-police investigative authority was realigned in 2021, the share of certified investigators — those holding official investigator qualifications — working in detective units rose briefly before declining again. Concerns are now being raised that the same pattern could repeat itself following this latest criminal justice reform.

Data on police certified investigators from 2019 to 2026, obtained through the office of Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Sang-sik of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, showed that as of the first half of this year, 22.1 percent of all certified investigators were assigned to non-investigative units.

Not every police officer can conduct investigations. Officers must first join the force and then pass a separate examination to become a certified investigator — a qualification obtainable once a year through a set exam or a recommendation from a station chief. A significant share of those who hold the qualification are nonetheless working outside detective units.

As of the first half of this year, 39,657 police officers held investigator certification. Of those, 30,825 were serving in detective units and 8,762 in non-investigative units. The share assigned outside detective work had improved briefly around the time of the 2021 authority realignment before sliding back down.

Looking at the figures by year, the share of certified investigators in non-investigative units stood at 23.2 percent in 2019 and 25.4 percent in 2020. After the prosecution-police authority realignment took effect, the rate fell to 24.9 percent in 2021, then improved further to 22.6 percent in 2022 and 16.3 percent in 2023. The trend then reversed: the share climbed back above 20 percent starting in 2024, reaching 20.1 percent that year, 23.3 percent in 2025 and 22.1 percent in the first half of 2026.

A police official noted that the non-investigative unit figures include officers on mandatory riot-unit service, those on leave or secondment, school resource officers, child abuse prevention officers, and staff in investigation-adjacent roles such as the women and youth crimes unit and internal affairs.

A section chief at a frontline detective unit said that when a certified investigator requests a transfer to a riot unit for reasons other than unavoidable circumstances such as childcare, colleagues sometimes say the person is "running away." "I don't think it's desirable for someone with investigator certification to move to a non-investigative post," the chief said.

Another investigator said younger colleagues have coined the term "fashion investigator certification" — referring to officers who obtain the qualification not to actually work as investigators, but simply to carry the title.

Experts say the avoidance of investigative assignments reflects the disappointment investigators felt after the 2021 prosecution-police authority realignment.

Im Jun-tae, a professor of police administration at Dongguk University, said investigators had expected the realignment to expand their authority and boost morale. "When it comes down to it, the system changed but investigators got no reward — only more work," he said. "The avoidance of investigative roles is a side effect of that."

Improving working conditions for investigators is now a challenge that must be addressed following the latest criminal justice reform. Im said conditions would need to change for the outcome to differ from the 2021 experience. "Incentives such as promotion benefits or performance-based allowances need to be put in place," he said.

Police are also reviewing compensation measures to attract more investigators under the new criminal justice framework. On Sept. 28, they announced plans to develop a program for cultivating investigative specialists.

Among the options under consideration are shortening the tenure required for promotion by one year for inspectors and below who post outstanding investigative performance, and extending the mandatory retirement age by up to four years for superintendent-level investigators selected through an annual review for exceptional competence.

Police are also looking at expanding fast-track promotions for inspector-level detective team leaders — broadening a scheme currently run by the National Investigation Headquarters starting next year — and awarding bonus points in public safety performance evaluations to integrated investigation teams and women-and-youth investigation teams, which carry heavier caseloads and more complex cases than other units.