‘경찰 가족 연루 사건’ 117건…‘안으로 굽는 팔’ 방치한 경찰청

In a recent incident in Jeonju, a chief police officer, ㄱ경감, is currently under investigation for alleged evidence tampering. The officer's 10-year-old son faced suspicion for illegally recording a teacher and is now being accused of disposing of the phone intentionally. This case is related to the previous 'Jang Yoon Gi' incident, where a police officer's family allegedly concealed various evidence related to a sexual crime.

This prompted the police headquarters to begin investigating family-related crimes involving police personnel. A total of 45 such cases have been identified nationwide, involving current police officers and their families. The police have started implementing a 'screening' system to prevent direct investigations into family-related crimes and to manage these cases separately.

Previously, there was no dedicated system to handle these incidents. Out of the 117 cases, 45 involved the police officer or their family as the perpetrator or victim. Among these, 47 cases were direct descendants, followed by 37 secondary relatives and 33 spouses. Most of the cases (111) were filed at individual police stations, while 6 were handled by the provincial police headquarters.

Only 1 case involved an investigation by the forensic police. Of these, 44 cases were transferred to other police units or are planned to be transferred, and 15 cases are under review for transfer. 32 cases have already concluded or are nearing their conclusion, and 26 cases were deemed not to pose a fairness concern and were not transferred.

Prior to this investigation, the police were unaware of cases involving the families of their officers. The lack of a dedicated system for handling such cases was highlighted, as the officers involved were often unaware of the external scrutiny. The police plan to adopt the 'screening' system starting the following month, with the goal of transferring cases involving police officers and their families to other units.

They will first establish internal guidelines and later develop the necessary legal framework for implementation.