Controversy Continues Over Active Police Officer 'Attending Law School'... Civic Group Requests Audit from Ministry of Education

Police Begin Survey on Law School Enrollment Status

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] A civic group arguing that it is inappropriate for active police officers to attend law schools (law schools) has requested an audit from the Ministry of Education on this matter. It is known that there are currently 57 police officers enrolled in law schools, and the claim is that it is problematic for them to maintain their studies by splitting their working hours.

According to the Judicial Examination Preparation Students' Association (Sajunmo) on the 25th, Sajunmo recently submitted a request for an audit to the Ministry of Education through the People's Petition System, asking for an investigation into whether there has been any negligence in academic management of active police officers enrolled in law schools. In the request, Sajunmo emphasized, "We hope that it will be reviewed whether there have been any special favors such as attendance and grading for active police officers enrolled in law schools nationwide and that disciplinary actions will be taken," and added, "When police officers enter law schools, it is necessary to have institutional arrangements such as each law school individually notifying the National Police Agency."

Earlier, Sajunmo filed information disclosure requests to various university law schools and revealed that 57 active police officers are enrolled in 24 universities. In response to the controversy, the National Police Agency stated, "It is against regulations to attend graduate school while on leave, but there are no rules restricting the use of time outside working hours," and added, "If there is no hindrance to work performance, it is difficult to take issue with merely attending law school."

The problem is that none of the domestic law schools operate night or online courses. Ultimately, classes must be attended during weekday daytime hours, and even if shift work days off are utilized, the frequent changes in schedule make it difficult to consistently match specific days. Furthermore, the fact that all active police officers enrolled in law schools are graduates of the Korean National Police University is also controversial. Sajunmo claimed, "It is a social problem that Korean National Police University graduates, who receive various benefits, enter law schools and then 'eat and run'." It is reported that the National Police Agency recently issued a directive to local police agencies to identify whether police officers are enrolled in graduate schools.

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