Minister of the Interior Sang-min Lee Visits National Police Agency Amid Controversy Over Preliminary Interviews of Commissioner Candidates

Minister of the Interior and Safety Sang-min Lee. / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min will visit the National Police Agency on the 9th. Officially, the visit is said to be for encouraging the leadership, but given the recent controversy over pre-interviews with candidates for the next National Police Agency Commissioner, various interpretations are emerging regarding his actions.

According to the police, Minister Lee is scheduled to visit the National Police Agency in Migeun-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, in the afternoon to meet with Commissioner Kim Chang-ryong. A police official explained, "It is customary for the Minister of the Interior and Safety to visit affiliated agencies such as the National Police Agency upon taking office," adding, "This visit is planned as a gesture of encouragement to the leadership." In fact, former Minister Kim Boo-kyum visited the National Police Agency in August 2017 and attended a nationwide police leadership meeting.

However, considering the current situation where tensions are emerging between the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the National Police Agency over police authority, it is said that this visit may not be merely for encouragement. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety recently formed an advisory committee for police system improvement, assigned public security duties to the minister's office, and is moving to strengthen police control by establishing a Police Bureau as an organization to execute these duties. In response, the National Police Commission has formed a provisional "Advisory Group for Strengthening Police Democracy."

Minister Lee's one-on-one meetings last month with six candidates for the next National Police Agency Commissioner are also cited as a factor raising suspicion about this visit. Although the Minister of the Interior and Safety has the authority to recommend personnel appointments for police officers at the rank of superintendent and above, the fact that he met separately with the candidates for the next Commissioner before the presidential appointment has drawn unfavorable views within the police.

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