Complaints filed under Korea's law-distortion crime statute have approached 230 cases in just over a month since its enforcement, raising concerns about potential misuse. The surge stems from a wave of indiscriminate complaints filed by those dissatisfied with trial or investigation outcomes. Experts warn that the rapid increase in such complaints could overburden front-line police stations and subject innocent individuals to investigations.
According to the Korean National Police Agency on Tuesday, a total of 239 law-distortion complaints had been filed as of the 12th of last month. The number of those accused reached 3,272. By occupation, the figures include 193 judges, 269 prosecutors, 1,067 police officers, six prosecution investigators, and 80 special judicial police officers. Notably, 1,657 ordinary civil servants were also among the accused. However, police have closed 38 cases without forwarding them to prosecutors, and no case has yet been referred to prosecutors with recommendations for indictment.
The law-distortion crime directly applies to judges, prosecutors, police officers, prosecution investigators, and special judicial police. Under Article 123-2 (Distortion of Law) of the Criminal Act, judges, prosecutors, or investigation-related personnel who commit acts intended to unlawfully or unjustly benefit others or harm their rights during trials, indictments, or investigations are subject to up to 10 years in prison and up to 10 years of suspension of qualifications. The acts constituting law distortion include: applying laws while knowing the requirements are not met, or conversely failing to apply them; destroying, concealing, or fabricating evidence, or knowingly using such evidence in trials or investigations; and collecting evidence through violence, intimidation, or deception, or acknowledging criminal facts while knowing lawful evidence does not exist.
In particular, co-principals, instigators, or accessories who aid judges, prosecutors, or police officers in such crimes can also be subject to investigation. Article 33 of the Criminal Act stipulates that "when a person without the required status participates in a crime that requires a certain status, the provisions on co-principals, instigators, and accessories shall also apply to that person." In other words, those who cooperate with, instigate, or aid prosecutors and judges in committing law-distortion crimes can be subject to complaints regardless of their status.
"Law distortion is a typical 'status offense' that directly targets judges, prosecutors, prosecution investigators, and police officers as investigation subjects," an academic source said. "Under Article 33 of the Criminal Act, anyone without the same status can also be accused as a co-principal, instigator, or accessory." A status offense refers to a crime whose constituent elements require a specific status from the actor. This means that even those without status as judges, prosecutors, or police officers can come under investigation if complainants determine they cooperated with, instigated, or aided the crime.
The problem is that concerns over misuse are mounting, with a flood of complaints broadly interpreting the application of the law-distortion crime. Experts worry that if complaints surge simply due to dissatisfaction with trials or investigations, or under the influence of "invisible hands" such as politics, the result will not only waste public resources through increased police workload but also lead to cases where innocent people become investigation targets.
"The most dangerous scenario is the law-distortion crime being politically abused," an academic source who requested anonymity said. "When complaints are filed indiscriminately to eliminate political opponents or obstruct their work, it could only bring chaos to the country's criminal justice system." The source added, "Anyone with no connection to a trial or investigation can become an investigation target. Even if a no-suspicion ruling is ultimately issued after investigation, those accused have no choice but to appear before investigative agencies or face compulsory investigations such as search and seizure during the process."
A lawyer and former prosecutor also said, "The biggest concern is that anyone can become the target of a law-distortion crime complaint. With prosecutors and police already flooded with unresolved cases and facing staff shortages, a misjudgment on law-distortion complaints will only lead to a surge in unnecessary investigations." He continued, "Even if police close cases without forwarding them, the accused cannot avoid being summoned for questioning during the investigation. They must bear unnecessary costs such as hiring lawyers, and their workplace lives and livelihoods inevitably suffer."
