Since the "law distortion crime" — a new judicial misconduct statute — took full effect on May 12, judges, prosecutors, and frontline police investigators have been hit with a wave of criminal complaints, according to police.
Park Jeong-bo, commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, said at a regular press briefing held at the agency's Naeja-dong headquarters in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Friday that a total of 91 individuals have been accused under the law so far.
By profession, the accused include: △20 police officers △26 judges △36 prosecutors (including those from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials and a special counsel) △9 others (civilians or general staff). The total number of complaints filed stands at 23.
Of these, three cases — involving Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, Senior Judge Ji Gwi-yeon, and Special Counsel Cho Eun-seok — are being handled by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's regional investigation unit, while the remaining cases are assigned to local police stations. At a press briefing on May 23, Commissioner Park had noted that "cases handled by local stations mostly concern complaints about individual rulings."
"The primary reason is dissatisfaction with rulings and investigations, so we are conducting investigations in accordance with procedures, taking into account the legislative intent," Park said. "The National Police Agency has also prepared an investigation guide with the nature of guidelines, and we are proceeding carefully and by the book, referring to it."
Police now find themselves in a position where, while investigating the flood of complaints and accusations filed against legal professionals under the judicial misconduct law, they must re-examine the legal reasoning behind court and prosecution decisions in specific cases. Concerns are also being raised that the mere possibility of the law being applied could have a chilling effect on investigations.
In particular, for cases involving political figures, there are concerns that repeated complaints against judges, prosecutors, and police under the judicial misconduct law could be used as a stalling tactic in situations where a guilty verdict is expected.