From December 1st, the Ministry of Justice decided to enforce human rights investigation rules. The enforced law limits the time of a single investigation of suspects and involved people to a maximum of eight hours. When including time for meals and breaks, an investigation time must not exceed 12 hours in total. Besides, even if the case requires several investigations, there must be an eight our break in between two separate investigations. Late-night investigations from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. are also prohibited. However, exceptions may be made in cases when the statute of limitations or arrest time are imminent. Furthermore, an unfair investigation method referred to as “pretextual investigation” has materialized. The pretextual investigation refers to the investigation of unrelated cases or the act of unreasonably delaying the investigation period to find new criminal suspects irrelevant to the main case. The rule also included provisions that indicate the suspect’s nonrestraint investigation. The rule consists of content where even if the suspect denies the crime or exercises the right to remain silent, it cannot be determined that there is a risk of escape or destruction of evidence just because there is public attention. The attendance request of the suspect must be given sufficiently early so as not to infringe on the honor and privacy of a suspect. Even if a suspect refuses to make a statement or denies a crime, the investigator cannot require repeated attendance or force a false confession. If a violation of human rights occurs during the investigation, it must be reported without delay to the Minister of Justice and the Public Prosecutor General. The new rule is expected to improve existing investigation methods and prevent human rights violations occurring during the investigation.
