Blog, Criminal

A lot of clients come to Seoul Law Group, complaining about the police in Korea, and saying that it is hard to understand the structure and the procedure. Moreover, they say that the police had rejected their letter of accusation. 

It is understandable to complain about the system and the procedure as it truly is not easy to understand. However, it sounds quite surprising that the police had refused the letter of accusation. According to the Regulations on Crime Investigations (범죄수사규칙) Article 49, a police officer must receive any complaint or accusation regardless of its jurisdiction. Then why would the police reject their letter of complaint/accusation? Is it just because they are foreigners? Is there any way to fix this situation? 

In this article, we are going to figure out the organization of the police, why would the police reject your accusation, and how you should act to make the police accept your letter of accusation. 

The Structure of The Police Stations in Korea

You may have heard of the word 경찰(Gyungchal), which means the police. You may also have heard 경찰서(Gyungchalseo), which means the police station. But when it comes to 파출소(Palchulso), 치안센터(Chi-an Center), 경찰청(Gyungchalchung), and 시도경찰청(Si Do Gyungchalchung), you just want to forget about everything and stop understanding. Let’s figure that out first, from the bottom to the top. 

1. 치안센터(Chi-an Center), Community Security Center

Chi-an Center is the smallest branch of the Korean Police. Most Community Security Centers only open during the daytime, and just one or two police officers may work at the Center. It is usually a small one or two-story building. 

2. 파출소(Pachulso) or 지구대(Jigudae), Police Substation (Police box)

Pachulso, or Jigudae is the police substation. Mostly it is a two or three-story building, and about twenty to sixty police officers work at the police substation. Jigudae and Pachulso are functionally the same, but usually, Jigudae is bigger than Pachulso. Police substations cover about two or three dongs (town) in general. 

3. 경찰서(Gyungchalseo)

Gyungchalseo is a police station. In the police station, there are various teams, such as the security team, the woman and minor team, and the investigation team. Moreover, 청문감사실(Chungmun Gamsa Sil), the Hearing and Inspection Office is in the police station. The police station is usually a multi-story building, with hundreds of police officers working. 

4. 시도경찰청(Si Do Gyungchalchung)

Si Do Gyungchalchung is a City/Provincial/Metropolitan Police Agency. Mostly it is established in every ‘do (Province)’, Special Self-governing City, or Metropolitan City. This organization takes control of the police stations of its jurisdiction. 

5. 경찰청(Gyungchalchung)

Gyungchalchung is called the Korean National Police Agency. It is a national-level government institute. There is only one Korean National Police Agency, and it is in Seodamun-gu, Seoul. It is very less likely for you to visit this place. 

The most familiar one for you must be the Pachulso or Jigudae, the police substation. It is established every two or three dongs. 

Where Can I Apply For My Letter of Accusation? 

Every police station, substation, agency, or even community security center must accept your letter of accusation. If the police station determines that they do not have the jurisdiction, then they must transfer to the one who has the jurisdiction. So, if you visit the nearest community security center and submit your letter of accusation, then it is okay. The officer will transfer it to the local police station, and the local police station will transfer it to another. 

Why Would The Police Reject My Letter of Accusation?

In theory, it is illegal to reject the letter of accusation. There recently was a Supreme Court decision stating that it is illegal for a police officer to reject the letter of accusation, and the police officer must compensate for the tort. 

However, in reality, there are still a lot of cases indirectly rejected by police officers. As the police officers must deal with so many cases, they do not want to deal with unclear and unobvious cases. According to Article 50, the police officer may not accept the letter of accusation/complaint in the following cases when you agree. Therefore, they may try to persuade you to agree with nonacceptance. 

Article 50 (nonacceptance of complaint or accusation)

 If the received complaint or accusation falls under the following cases, the police officer, with the consent of the accuser or complainant, may not accept the complaint or accusation. 

• • • When the criminal facts of the accusation/complaint do not consist of a crime
    • When the period of prescription of public prosecution is expired
    • There already is a judgment or determination of non-transmission or non-prosecution for the same case without any new evidence
    • When the suspect is already passed away
    • Where there is a withdrawal of a criminal complaint in the case which shall be prosecuted only upon criminal complaint; Where the injured party declares his/her intention not to prosecute a case which cannot be prosecuted against the clearly expressed intention of such person, or where the declaration of intention in such case is withdrawn 

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How Can I Have My Accusation Accepted?

The direct way to appeal against the refusal of the police officer is to visit the 청문감사실(Chungmun Gamsa Sil), the Hearing and Inspection Office in the police station. The Hearing and Inspection Officer, as you can see in the name, shall commence hearing from the citizens and inspect the wrongdoings of the police officers. If they figure out it was illegal or a mistake of the police officer to reject your letter of accusation/complaint, the Hearing and Inspection Officer will send out orders to fix it. 

However, if your letter of accusation still falls under the cases of Article 50, the inspection officer would have no way to fix your situation.

Consult Your Lawyer

It is always better for you to ask your lawyer before accusation. As a non-legal expert, you may not know whether the facts of your accusation consist of a crime or not. Moreover, as a foreigner, it must be hard to translate your idea correctly. The police officers in South Korea are busy and must deal with so many cases. If your first letter of accusation does not consist of a crime, it may make the police officers wear tinted glasses, so they won’t take a closer look at your case. Moreover, in accordance with the recent revision of the Criminal Procedure Law, the police now hold the right to close a certain by its own determination. Therefore, it became very important to have a good start – by submitting a clear and well-organized letter of complaint/accusation. 

Seoul Law Group has various experiences with writing a letter of accusation/complaint. We also have a good understanding of the foreigners who suffer from criminal cases. If you need any help, please do not hesitate to contact us. Seoul Law Group will help you.