Republic of Korea: Level of police corruption and police involvement in organized crime; measures taken to combat the problem and whether these measures have been effective (January 2004 - March 2006)

General Situation

According to Freedom in the World 2005 and Country Reports 2005, South Korean police were "generally considered well disciplined and uncorrupt" (Freedom House 2005; Country Reports 2005 8 Mar. 2006, Sec. 1.d). The International Narcotics Control Strategy Report 2006 (INCSR 2006) states that

[a]lthough isolated reports of official corruption continue to appear in the [Republic of Korea's] vigorous free press, there is no evidence that any official corruption adversely influenced narcotics law enforcement in the [Republic of Korea]. As a matter of government policy, the [Republic of Korea] does not encourage or facilitate illicit production or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions (March 2006).

However, a Transparency International (TI) report entitled Global Corruption Barometer 2005 showed that South Korean survey respondents rated police corruption at 3.7 points on a 5-point scale, with 5 indicating that the police are "extremely corrupt" (TI 9 Dec. 2005, 18). For comparative purposes, the corresponding figure for Canadian respondents was 2.7 (ibid.).

Reports of Police Corruption

In its 2003 annual report, the Korea Independent Commission Against Corruption (KICAC) noted that among the year's major reported whistleblowing cases, police officers were found to have embezzled public funds by producing fraudulent documents; as a result, eight officers were indicted with detention, seven were indicted without detention, and thirty-seven had their personal information shared with "relevant agencies" (KICAC July 2004, 34). Further information on this case could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

In March 2004, media reports stated that Choe Sung-kyu (also spelled Choi Seong-gyu [Joins.com 19 Mar. 2004]), former head of the special investigation bureau of the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA), was being extradited from the United States following allegations that he was involved in a corruption scandal (ibid.; The Korea Times 11 Mar. 2004). Choe reportedly accepted bribes from an aide to the former President's son in order to stop police from investigating corruption at a Seoul hospital (ibid.; Joins.com 19 Mar. 2004).

The Korea Times also noted a February 2004 incident involving the Kyeyang police station in Inchon in which officers were using the services of prostitutes in exchange for police protection (9 Mar. 2004). In response, the officers were arrested for "violating the prostitution law and taking bribes," and the KNPA said it would aim to have an equal number of male and female officers working on women's and children's cases in police stations (The Korea Times 9 Mar. 2004). In addition, male officers heading the vice department, which is responsible for the investigation of entertainment venues, were replaced by female officers at 128 out of a total of 233 police stations across the country (ibid.).

A 10 May 2004 article by The Korea Times indicated that the KNPA would toughen its measures to address the criminal activities of police officers. Among the new measures were the raising of qualifications necessary for recruitment into the force, and the immediate dismissal of officers found to be "unfit," even during initial training (The Korea Times 10 May 2004). These new rules came into effect in the wake of several reports of illicit activities by Korean police officers in their dealings with brothels, nightclubs, bars, and criminal gangs (ibid. 10 May 2004). In one case, policemen in Kunsan were found to have been sleeping with a group of teenage runaways they were supposed to be protecting (ibid.). The officers were dismissed by the KNPA, as was their supervisor, the chief of the Kunsan police station (ibid.).

In June 2004, the Seoul Central Prosecutor's Office detained a police officer and charged this officer with bribery after it was alleged that he or she forged documents to assist a pimp in evading prosecution (Joins.com 18 June 2004).

In January 2006, Korean media reported on the suicide of a police officer who was also an aide of the deputy police chief of the KNPA (ibid. 22 Jan. 2006; Yonhap 21 Jan. 2006). Yonhap News alleged that the police chief, Choi Kwang-sik, was involved in a corruption scandal involving "dubious financial dealings with [a] broker," the latter recently having been arrested for extortion (21 Jan. 2006). According to Yonhap News, the aide "was under psychological pressure about the possibility of testifying against his boss" (21 Jan. 2006).

Anti-Corruption Legislation

The Republic of Korea is a signatory to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Anti-Bribery Convention, which it ratified in January 1999, but has yet to sign the United Nations (UN) Convention Against Corruption (TI 1 Feb. 2006, 246).

The Republic of Korea Anti-Corruption Act was enacted on 24 July 2001 (Republic of Korea 24 July 2001). The act calls for the establishment of the Korea Independent Commission Against Corruption (KICAC), which was founded on 25 January 2002 (KICAC July 2004, Intr.), and outlines the duties of this commission: formulating anti-corruption policy, monitoring and supporting the implementation of anti-corruption measures, promoting international co-operation to prevent corruption, and receiving reports from whistleblowers who are to be protected and rewarded for exposing corrupt activities (Republic of Korea 24 July 2001, Art. 11). KICAC has also provided anti-corruption courses taught by experts to various government agencies, including the KNPA (KICAC July 2004, 54).

The Anti-Corruption Act also includes provisions for KICAC to file accusations with the prosecution against high-ranking public officials suspected of corruption, including police officers at the rank of superintendent general or higher (Republic of Korea 24 July 2001, Art. 29).

In November 2004, KICAC proposed an amendment to the Anti-Corruption Act, which was still being considered by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee in February 2006 (TI 1 Feb. 2006, 246). Information on whether the proposed amendment included any provisions relating to the police could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2005. 8 March 2006. "Republic of Korea." United States Department of State. [Accessed 21 Mar. 2006]

Freedom House. 2005. "South Korea." Freedom in the World 2005. [Accessed 21 Mar. 2006]

International Narcotics Control Strategy Report 2006 (INCSR 2006). March 2006. Vol. 1. "South Korea." United States Department of State. [Accessed 3 Apr. 2006]

JoongAng Daily [Seoul] (Joins.com). 22 January 2006. Chang Hye-soo and Ser Myo-ja. "Officer Suicides after Summons by Prosecutors." (Factiva)
_____. 18 June 2004. Moon Byung-joo. "Two Accused of Corruption." (Factiva)
_____. 19 March 2004. Ha Jae-sik. "A Former Police Official Denies Corruption Charges." (Factiva)

Korea Independent Commission Against Corruption (KICAC). July 2004. Annual Report 2003. [Accessed 23 Mar. 2006]

The Korea Times [Seoul]. 10 May 2004. "NPA Takes Measures to Discipline Police Officers." [Accessed 21 Mar. 2006]
_____. 11 March 2004. "US to Hand Over Former Police Official Next Week." (Factiva)
_____. 9 March 2004. Kim Rahn. "Female Officers Mobilized to Eliminate Corruption." [Accessed 21 Mar. 2006]

Republic of Korea. 24 July 2001. Anti-Corruption Act (Korea Independent Commission Against Corruption [KICAC]). [Accessed 23 Mar. 2006]

Transparency International (TI). 1 February 2006. Kim Geo-sung. "South Korea." Global Corruption Report 2006. [Accessed 23 Mar. 2006]
_____. 9 December 2005. Report on the Transparency International Global Corruption Barometor 2005. [Accessed 23 Mar. 2006]

Yonhap News Agency [Seoul]. 21 January 2006. "Deputy Police Chief's Aide Kills Himself Amid Brokerage." (Factiva)

Additional Sources Consulted

Internet Sites, including: Amnesty International (AI), British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), The Economist [London], European Country of Origin Information Network (ECOI), Global Security.org, Human Rights Watch (HRW), The Korea Herald [Seoul], Korean National Police Agency (KNPA), Korea.net, Supreme Court of Korea.

Publications: World Police Encyclopedia (2006).