Police will launch a dedicated body this week to push sweeping reforms, amid pressure from a legal revision that will shift prosecutors’ investigative authority to the police. The move follows criticism over a Jeju missing person case in which a police officer was found to have prematurely closed several cases. Acting police chief Kim Jong-chul has ordered all officers to receive training this month on revised investigation procedures, while President Lee Jae Myung has stressed the need for police reform.
Kim Jong-chul, center, the new acting head of the Korean National Police Agency, and other police commanders read the Police Charter during a police leadership meeting at the Korean National Police Agency in Seoul, Sept. 3. Yonhap
A new dedicated body will be launched this week to push for sweeping reforms of the police, the police said Sunday, amid growing calls for such a move following a legal revision that will transfer prosecutors' investigative authority to the police.
Calls for police reform have also grown following controversy over a missing person case on the southern island of Jeju in which a police officer was found to have prematurely closed multiple missing person cases without confirming the safety of those reported missing.
