Unending Harassment Within the Police: "Rank Is a Bully"

Covering Meal and Drink Expenses with Verbal Abuse
99 Disciplinary Actions from 2017 to March This Year
89 Are Managers at Lieutenant Rank or Higher

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] In April, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency placed Lieutenant A and Inspector B, who were affiliated with the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul, on standby and transferred them. Lieutenant A and Inspector B had been working as section chiefs and unit chiefs in departments investigating and directing criminal cases since last year and the end of 2019, respectively. They are suspected of forcing their subordinates to pay for meals and drinks on their behalf and verbally abusing them. Additionally, they are suspected of calling employees to their homes after responding to crime scenes and drinking alcohol, then riding home in a criminal investigation unit vehicle. The Police Agency is conducting an internal investigation into these individuals.

The number of police officers disciplined for workplace harassment is increasing. According to the "Number of Workplace Harassment Disciplinary Cases in the Last Four Years" obtained by Asia Economy from the Police Agency on the 4th, the number of disciplined officers was 30 in 2017, dropped to 10 the following year, then rose to 22 in 2019. Last year, 30 officers were disciplined for workplace harassment. Up to March this year, 7 officers have been caught. Most workplace harassment incidents occurred among ranks of Inspector and above. Of the total 99 police officers disciplined for workplace bullying, 89 were Inspectors or higher. Twenty-five Inspectors and 45 Inspectors (Gyeonggam) were disciplined, and among middle managers such as Lieutenant Colonels (Gyeongjeong) who serve as police station section chiefs and Police Chiefs (Chonggyeong), 18 and 1 officers respectively were caught for workplace harassment. In contrast, fewer officers were disciplined at the Sergeant (Gyeongsa) and Corporal (Gyeongjang) ranks, with 7 and 3 respectively, and no officers at the Patrol Officer (Sun-gyeong) rank were disciplined.

By affiliation, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency had the highest number with 34 officers. The Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency, Gyeonggi Bukbu Police Agency, and Incheon Police Agency followed with 11, 10, and 7 officers respectively. Furthermore, among the officers caught for bullying, 40 received the lightest disciplinary action of a reprimand. Thirty-three were given pay cuts, 24 were suspended, and 2 were demoted. There were no dismissals or expulsions.

Experts attribute the cause of workplace harassment to the hierarchical culture within the police organization. Professor Lee Woong-hyuk of Konkuk University’s Department of Police Science said, "Although societal views on workplace harassment are changing, the pace of change within the police is relatively slow. To change the hierarchical and bureaucratic organizational culture, leadership from the command is ultimately necessary, and change is possible when they make efforts to establish a culture of communication."

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