A Study on the Impact of Public Perception of Procedural Justice on Support for Police Investigative Authority

Following the 2020 amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act, the investigative authority, which was previously concentrated with prosecutors, has been adjusted. This adjustment has significantly expanded the primary investigative authority and autonomy of the police, and granted them the authority to not forward cases, thereby allowing the police to secure part of the investigative conclusion authority. The exercise of investigative authority, particularly within the criminal justice system, is a process of imposing the state's punitive power, which strongly restricts freedom and rights. It also has a strong procedural nature in terms of realizing criminal procedure in practice. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure procedural legitimacy along with substantive justice and to comply with the rule of law as stipulated in the Constitution. This legitimacy can be evaluated through the trust and support of citizens. This study aims to empirically verify the extent to which the public expects and demands procedural justice in the exercise of police investigative authority, and how this perception affects support for police investigative authority and conclusion authority. Based on theoretical and criminal justice law grounds for procedural justice, the study collected and restructured public perception survey data on investigative structure reform for analysis and discussion. The study results indicate that both public expectations and demands for procedural justice significantly influence support for police investigative autonomy. In the case of support for investigative conclusion authority, procedural expectations were found to have a significant impact. Based on these results, the study suggests that, in addition to adhering to procedural limits according to legal principles, it is necessary to improve procedural attitudes towards counterparts, enhance police investigative expertise through the expansion and strengthening of professional personnel and education, and maintain and strengthen the fairness and neutrality of police investigative authority through legal and institutional improvements.