Preparing to Launch the Speedy 'Police Workplace Council'

Formation of Police Agency TF, Role in Gathering Opinions
Field Police Officers Already Have a 'Preparation Committee'
Launching This Second Half of the Year... Will 'Internal Checks and Balances' Be Achieved?

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The launch of the 'Police Workplace Council (Jikhyup)'?which will serve as a 'check' within the police organization as a preliminary step to forming a labor union?is gaining momentum. The National Police Agency has decided to form a separate task force (TF) to gather employees' opinions in line with the launch of the Jikhyup.

According to the police on the 4th, the National Police Agency will establish a 'Workplace Council TF' under the Office of the Police Affairs Officer. The TF will consist of three members, led by a police superintendent as team leader, and will operate temporarily until the end of this year. The TF will collect opinions from field officers regarding the launch of the Jikhyup and discuss operational plans. It was formed in preparation for the full-scale launch of the Jikhyup in the second half of this year.

In November last year, the National Assembly passed a partial amendment to the "Act on the Establishment and Operation of Public Officials' Workplace Councils," allowing the police to establish workplace councils. Although the right to collective action is not granted, it stipulates that members can consult with their affiliated institution heads on improving working conditions, enhancing work efficiency, and handling grievances, thereby granting minimal rights to organize and negotiate. While general public officials have been able to operate workplace councils since the law was enacted in 1998, police and firefighters were excluded and thus could not have separate workplace councils.

Expectations among frontline police officers regarding the establishment of the Jikhyup are high. In December last year, field officers formed the "Republic of Korea Police Workplace Council Preparatory Committee (Jikhyup Preparation Committee)" and began related discussions. The committee consists of 20 police officers from employee councils (Field Vitality Meetings) active in provincial police agencies and police stations nationwide.

In particular, the launch of the police Jikhyup holds significant meaning as part of 'police reform.' Current major agenda items such as the establishment of the autonomous police system and the National Investigation Headquarters are all institutional or external police reform measures. In contrast, the Jikhyup can function as a channel within the police to change the vertical organizational culture and raise issues against unjust orders from superiors.

Under current standards, police officers at the rank of police inspector (gyeonggam) and below can join the police Jikhyup. Police inspectors serve as section/team leaders at frontline police stations and as heads of district police stations or police boxes, handling both management and fieldwork, while officers at the rank of police lieutenant (gyeongwi) and below are the officers actively working on the ground. This can serve as a foundation for internal police reform based on field opinions. Ryu Geun-chang, Director of External Cooperation for the Jikhyup Preparation Committee (Police Lieutenant, Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency), said, "We are preparing to become an internal police check-and-balance mechanism that gathers frontline officers' opinions and raises voices against unjust orders."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.