Poll finds prosecutors trusted more than police
Acting National Police Agency Commissioner General Kim Jong-chul, left, and other senior police officers salute during a public event on police reform at the National Police Agency in Seoul, Sept. 17. Newsis
Nearly half of Koreans say they trust the prosecution more than the police, highlighting the challenge facing the police ahead of the official abolition of the Prosecutors’ Office on Friday.
In a poll conducted in September by Media Tomato of 1,035 adults nationwide, 47.5 percent of respondents said they trusted prosecutors more, compared with 28.4 percent who chose police officers. Another 24.1 percent said they were unsure.
The prosecution led the police in public trust across every age group except those in their 60s, where the gap was still within the survey’s margin of error. Among respondents in their 20s, 54.1 percent chose the prosecution and 17.2 percent picked the police. The comparable figures were 60.5 percent and 18.3 percent for people in their 30s.
The prosecution also held an edge among those in their 40s and 50s — age groups viewed as a key support base for the liberal governing bloc. Among those in their 40s, 43.7 percent chose the prosecution, compared with 33.3 percent for the police. Among those in their 50s, the figures were 42.9 percent and 34.4 percent, respectively.
By region, the prosecution was more trusted than the police in all areas surveyed. The largest gap appeared in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, a conservative stronghold, where 64.1 percent chose the prosecution and 19.6 percent the police. Even in the liberal Honam region, the prosecution led the police by 42.2 percent to 32.6 percent.
The results varied sharply by political orientation. Respondents who identified themselves as conservatives overwhelmingly favored the prosecution, by 75.1 percent to 12.5 percent, while liberals preferred the police, by 52.8 percent to 20.7 percent. Centrists sided with the prosecution by 50.5 percent to 20.3 percent.
A separate Gallup Korea survey the same month put the police’s institutional trust score at 3.3 out of 10, its lowest level since 2009.
The figures suggest that rebuilding public confidence in police investigations and discipline will be a key task as Korea’s restructured criminal justice system takes effect.