First national annual assembly of investigation review committees held
The National Investigation Headquarters of the Korean National Police Agency held the first national annual assembly of police investigation review committees Friday, with more than 70 participants including committee chairs and members from across the country as well as heads of investigation review divisions at provincial police agencies.
The police investigation review committee is a body that includes outside members such as civilian experts to examine the appropriateness of police investigations.
According to the National Investigation Headquarters, the assembly was the first nationwide gathering since the review committee system was introduced in 2021, organized to share operational achievements and discuss directions for improving the review system going forward.
At the assembly, Kim Jae-bong, chair of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's review committee, proposed establishing specialized subcommittees by field, covering areas such as finance and medicine. Park No-seop, chair of the Gangwon Province Police Agency's review committee, presented a case study in which review committee members with relevant expertise examined key issues in complex cases.
Kim Seon-taek, chair of the National Investigation Headquarters' review committee, said he hoped the assembly would "invigorate exchanges and cooperation among review committees and that related systems will be improved so that review outcomes are faithfully reflected at investigation scenes."
Hong Seok-gi, chief of the National Investigation Headquarters, said "external, objective verification is crucial to building public trust in police investigations." He added that the agency would "respect the independent judgment of civilian members and actively support the review committees so they can faithfully carry out a substantive oversight role over police investigations."
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