The National Police Agency said Wednesday it will compile a database of DNA information on crime suspects for use in investigations, responding to the rising number of cases in which DNA testing is conducted, but if a suspect who has provided a sample dies, that person's sample will be deleted, NPA officials said.
The NPA plans to start using the database around August, in addition to another DNA database set up in December to store data from biological evidence, including blood and hair, found at scenes of unsolved crimes.
DNA testing has become an important method for identifying criminal suspects. The number of cases in which such testing was conducted last year has more than doubled since the previous year to 2,338, they said.