South Korean Police Begin Full Enforcement of Family-Case Recusal Rules, Expanding Coverage to Siblings

South Korea’s police will begin enforcing a rule that prevents officers from directly investigating cases involving the families of police personnel. The National Police Agency said the guidance takes effect on the 9th and aims to prevent conflicts of interest during investigations.

An investigator must immediately request recusal after learning that a person connected to a case is the spouse, direct ancestor or descendant, or sibling of a police officer currently working at the same station or who worked there within the past three years. After direction from the relevant metropolitan or provincial police agency, the case must be transferred to another police station within the same court jurisdiction.

A recusal system already applied when an investigator’s own family members were involved in a case. The new measure expands the covered family members from spouses and direct relatives to include brothers and sisters. It reflects a recommendation from the Police Investigation Reform Committee, which was formed mainly with outside experts after controversy over an allegedly inadequate investigation into the Jang Yoon-gi case.

Exceptions will be allowed when the same station must continue investigating to protect a victim, or when officers must urgently arrest a suspect or detain someone caught in the act. In such cases, the head of the metropolitan or provincial police agency must approve the decision. The case must also undergo monthly reviews of whether the handling was appropriate and whether a transfer remained necessary.

The National Police Agency said it would continue discussions to ensure follow-up measures linked to the revised Criminal Procedure Act and other efforts to strengthen controls over police investigations proceed without disruption.

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We will continue discussions so that follow-up measures under the revised Criminal Procedure Act and tasks to strengthen controls over police investigations can proceed without disruption.