공인탐정제도의 필요성에 관한 연구

A Study on the Necessity of Certified Private Detective System

최근 국내에도 탐정활동의 합법화 되어 이루어졌으나, 법규정의 모호성, 관리감독의 미비 등으로 인해 불법적인 영업활동과 국민의 사생활을 침해하는 등 음성적으로 탐정활동이 운영되는 일들이 비일비재하게 발생하고 있다. 공인탐정제도 도입의 정체에 따른 예상 문제는 다음과 같다. 제도의 도입보다 먼저 ‘탐정’ 용어의 사용이 자유로워짐에 따라, 양성화된 형태의 탐정사무실로 보이지만, 실제로는 음성화된 형태로 운영되고 있는 많은 흥신소 및 심부름센터 등에서 불법적인 업무가 이루어지고 있다. 앞으로 제도권 밖에서 불법적인 업무가 계속 이루어질 것으로 전망되고 제2의 이석준 사건이 발생할 것으로 예상된다. 탐정제도가 공인화되어 합리적으로 운영된다면 새로운 일자리 창출 등의 긍정적인 요소가 매우 많다는 것은 외국의 사례들에서 이미 검증이 되어 왔다. 그렇기 때문에 공인탐정제도의 도입으로 불법적인 형태의 흥신소 및 심부름센터 등을 양성화하고, 정부 차원에서 관리ㆍ감독이 이루어질 수 있는 제도적 기반이 마련되어야 한다. 따라서 이 연구는 공인탐정제도의 도입을 위한 필요성을 제시하는데 목적을 두었다.

Modern society is changing into a highly-advanced society that pursues convergences of heterogeneous fields along with developments of state-of-the-art science technology and info-communication. Now, such a convergence in human society is regarded as quite a normal and irresistible social phenomenon that people take for granted. Such a convergence of heterogeneous individuals with different characteristics from each other brings convenience and abundance into many different fields. On the other hand, it brings about adverse effects, so-called social problems, such as loss of humanity and social unrest caused by various kinds of crimes increasing. To solve various kinds of crimes in the front lines more effectively, police manpower and budget keep being reinforced and increased, but they are still far from sufficiency, compared to the crime rate recently growing. As an alternative, some private detective activities have been legalized even in Korea, but due to the ambiguity of regulations and the lack of management and supervision, illegal or covert private detective activities frequently take place, further invading people’s privacy. As the introduction of a certified private detective system is postponed, problems are expected as follows. In advance of introducing such a system, the term, ‘private detective’, is already being used more freely, leading to the establishment of private detective offices in somewhat legalized forms. In reality, however, illegal private detective agencies and messenger offices in covert forms will still provide lots of illegal private detective services as they have done so far. It is expected that even after legalization, illegal private detective services will keep being provided outside the system, and major incidents like Lee seok-joon’s murder will take place as well. Some cases from abroad clearly show that when a private detective system is certified and reasonably operated, it brings about many positive effects, such as creating new jobs. With the introduction of a certified private detective system, therefore, it is necessary to legalize the existing covert-form private detective agencies and messenger offices, and establish institutional frameworks so that these private detective agencies and messenger offices can be properly managed and supervised at the government level. Overall, this study aimed to clarify the necessity of introducing a certified private detective system and suggest reasonable management plans at a policy level.