Unified Local Police Sparks Collective Backlash... Solo Protests Announced

Police Union Emergency Committee Demands Bill Repeal and Full Review
"Sudden Amendments Without Consultation... Ignoring Public Safety Importance"

The Emergency Measures Committee of the Police Workplace Council, the National Public Officials Union Police Agency Branch, and the Police Agency Clerks Union held a press conference on the 17th in front of the Police Agency headquarters in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, demanding the repeal and reconsideration of the "Autonomous Police Act" proposed by Kim Young-bae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea. They stated, "We urge the immediate suspension of the promotion of the Autonomous Police Act, and even now, we call for the promotion of autonomous policing that fully listens to and reflects the opinions of the public, academia, and field police officers." Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] As the bill introducing the autonomous police system, which disperses only administrative and command authority while maintaining the existing national police organization, so-called the 'unified model,' was submitted to the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, collective opposition from on-site police officers has intensified. Centered around the Police Workplace Council, they plan to hold one-person protests demanding the bill's repeal.

On the morning of the 17th, the National Police Workplace Council Emergency Measures Committee (Police Workplace Council EMC), the National Public Officials Labor Union Police Agency Branch, and the Police Agency Staff Labor Union held a press conference in front of the Police Agency building in Migeun-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, demanding the repeal and full reconsideration of the autonomous police bills, including the 'Police Act Total Revision Bill' sponsored by Kim Young-bae of the Democratic Party of Korea. Later that afternoon, they also plan to hold a one-person protest in front of Kim's constituency office.

The part that police officers find most problematic is that the bill was suddenly revised to the unified model and proposed without any prior consultation. The existing dual model, which separates national and autonomous police, has been discussed since the Roh Moo-hyun administration and has been continuously debated since the launch of the Jeju Autonomous Police in 2006. In their statement, they said, "Public safety is directly related to the survival and safety of the people and greatly affects national stability. The bill was pushed forward unilaterally without prior explanation or public opinion gathering from the police, academia, civic groups, or anywhere else, proving how lightly they regard public safety."

There are also concerns that if the organization remains intact and only autonomous tasks are assigned, the workload will increase. They pointed out, "Without an increase in personnel and budget, all local government civil complaints will be shouldered, inevitably neglecting the safety of citizens who should be protected from serious crimes." They also criticized, "There is concern about the violation of police political neutrality due to personnel appointments tailored to the tastes of provincial governors."

According to a survey conducted by the office of Seo Beom-su of the People Power Party from the 2nd to the 5th of this month targeting 9,825 on-site police officers, 86.3% opposed the introduction of the autonomous police system. The opposition movement against autonomous police is drawing more attention as it is the first since the Police Workplace Council was launched in June this year. Min Gwan-gi, chairman of the Police Workplace Council EMC (Chief Inspector at Cheongju Heungdeok Police Station), emphasized, "They are trying to implement the unified model autonomous police from January 1 next year without even a pilot operation. We will strongly demand the repeal of the bill that does not reflect the realities of the public safety field at all."

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