Korea Customs Service will establish "legal advisors" at customs headquarters nationwide to improve the investigative expertise of special judicial police (special investigators) at customs in charge of trade and foreign exchange crime investigations.
Korea Customs Service said on the 16th that starting this year it will introduce and operate a legal advisor system at each customs headquarters. As the investigative environment changes amid discussions to overhaul the criminal justice system, the agency is putting in place an internal control mechanism to enhance the lawfulness and credibility of customs investigations.
Legal advisors will conduct advance reviews at the pre-referral stage of cases investigated by customs special investigators, checking the validity of legal application, the lawfulness of compulsory investigation procedures, and compliance with measures to protect suspects' human rights. If issues arise during the investigation, they will support the work by providing supplementary opinions through ad hoc consultations.
In the first year of operation, Korea Customs Service will first assign legal advisors to four major headquarters—Seoul, Busan, Incheon Airport, and Incheon—and then expand the program to customs offices nationwide. Seoul Customs and Incheon Airport Customs will immediately place internal personnel with attorney qualifications, while Busan Customs and Incheon Customs will hire external legal experts to begin operations in the first half of this year.
Korea Customs Service in particular expects that, because trade and foreign exchange crimes are complex economic offenses to which multiple laws apply concurrently, expert review by legal advisors will help improve the completeness of investigations.
Lee Myung-gu, commissioner of Korea Customs Service, said, "Operating legal advisors is a starting point for becoming a trusted investigative agency by enhancing the lawfulness of investigations and protecting the basic rights of the public," adding, "Alongside existing systems such as the Violation Investigation Review Committee and the Advisory Committee on Investigation Advancement, we will do our best to make this an important pillar that strengthens the investigative expertise and accountability of customs special investigators."