South Korean police's 'private contact' reporting system yields zero disciplinary actions in seven years

A system designed to prevent private contact between active police officers and former officers working in legal professions has been operational for seven years, yet it has failed to yield any disciplinary actions or investigations. Introduced in 2019 following the 'Burning Sun' scandal, the 'Private Contact Reporting Center' has logged 149 reports of contact between serving officers and retired officers acting as brokers. However, the National Police Agency has confirmed that no follow-up actions have been taken on any of these reports.

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We are not taking separate measures for the reported cases.

The reporting center was established as part of the police's commitment to prohibit external contact with individuals involved in cases, as stipulated in Article 5-2 of the Public Service Code of Conduct. The intention was to curb potential collusion between current officers and former colleagues who have transitioned into roles as brokers in the legal sector. Despite the number of reports, the police department stated that the system operates on a voluntary reporting basis, implying that only non-problematic encounters are likely to be reported.

Police officials acknowledge that the system's primary purpose is preventative, serving as a deterrent and providing officers with grounds to refuse inappropriate contact. While acknowledging that illegal activities discovered through reports would naturally lead to disciplinary action, no cases have resulted in punishment thus far. This lack of enforcement has led to criticism that the system has been ineffective in its seven years of operation.

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The operation of the reporting system itself is proceeding on a preventive basis, intended to give officers a sense of caution and a justification for refusing inappropriate contact.

In response to these shortcomings, the Police Reform Task Force recently decided to formalize the prohibition of case inquiries within the police's official code of conduct. They also plan to establish and strengthen disciplinary guidelines for such inquiries, aiming to make the system more robust. However, the continued lack of concrete action on reported cases raises questions about the true effectiveness of these upcoming measures.

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Disciplinary action is naturally subject to cases where illegalities are confirmed based on the reported content, but there have been no cases of punishment based on received reports yet.