형사소송법 상 피의자신문조서 외의 피의자진술조서

Several Types of Protocols Containing the Suspect's Statement under the Korean Law

우리 법은 수사단계에서 진술을 하는 자를 피의자와 피의자 아닌 자로 나누고있다. 여기서 말하는 피의자란 말 그대로 “혐의를 받는 자”를 의미하며, 그 혐의에는 주관적인 혐의와 객관적인 혐의가 있다. 수사기관은 주관적 혐의가 있을 때 수사에 착수하며, 수사대상자는 피의자가 된다. 물론 수사대상자에게 객관적 혐의까지 있다면 강제수사를 시작하고 소위 피의자신문을 시작할 수 있다. 하지만 아직 주관적 혐의만 있는 경우라면 강제수사의 요건을 충족하지 못함은 물론이고, 그 혐의자에 대해 엄격한 요건 하에서 피의자신문을 시작할 필요도 없다. 이 경우에도 피의자신문을 시작하면 인권침해의 소지가 있다. 그러므로 수사기관은 주관적 혐의밖에 없는 피의자를 불러서 저간의 사정을 들어보고 수사를 종결할 것인지, 아니면 수사의 강도를 높일 것인지 결정할 필요가 있다. 이 단계의 절차를 규정하는 법이 바로 제200조이다.

Following the tradition which has been formed in the development of the Continental Inquisition Process, the Korean criminal trial uses, as evidence, the protocol which has been prepared in the investigation process by the law enforcement personnel. A police officer calls a suspect and types what he states with regard to the facts in issue of which he knows. Before typing it, the officer has to inform the suspect of his constitutional right such as that of remaining silent. At that stage, the suspect is supposed to feel the pressure upon him and accordingly, he may request the presence of a counsel or recording of his statements. We call this process ex parte suspect interrogation for which article 244 applies. However, in certain circumstances, there is no need to hold a official process of typing the suspects' statement, because the police officer or prosecutors want to just know of what really happened in the past between the alleged victims and the persons summoned to the law enforcement authorities. They do not have any specific suspicion on the summoned. All they want is the overall information about the complaint that the alleged victims have filed. This stage is called a hearing of the suspect's statements. This in not an official process and logically, the suspect should feel free of denying what the victims have reported to the authorities. Article 200 of the Korean Criminal Procedure Act states that “any public prosecutor or judicial police officer may, whenever necessary for the investigation, demand a suspect to make an appearance to hear his statements.”However, since long, the Korean legal circle has ignored the importance of this article and the result is that every single suspect must be put in the official interrogation which is basically uncomfortable. This paper insists on the practical meaning of Article 200.