Reform of Medicolegal Death Investigation System in Korea - On the Professionalism of involved Personnel -

검시제도(檢視制度)의 개혁(改革) 방안(方案) - 검시 관여자(檢視 關與者)의 전문성(專門性)을 중심으로 -

The reform necessity of medicolegal death investigation system is continuously issued. The problems from the current death investigation system are discussed, specially on the professionalism of the involved personnel such as policemen, doctors, prosecutors. Death investigation exists not only to prosecute the criminals but also primarily to protect the general public's health, safety, and welfare. The reform proposals of death investigation system are followed as below. Statutes require that the prosecutor be notified of certain deaths. All deaths that may reasonably result from anything other than natural disease should be investigated. A death certificate is a legal document which authenticate a death, therefore it is issued by the doctor. The postmortem examination must be rearranged on the university base and performed by the qualified doctors who are trained at least in pathology. The police officer specified in death investigation and forensic identification should be encouraged to keep doing their special work in many ways.