Lee Sang-min Warns Police: "Police Bureau Superintendent General Meeting Inappropriate... Investigating Illegality"

Claiming the Purpose of Establishing the Police Bureau Is Distorted as "Inappropriate"
"The Police Agency Will Strictly Investigate Illegality and Take Follow-up Actions"
Pointing Out That the Prosecutors and Police Chiefs Meetings Are Different

Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min is speaking at a press briefing held on the 28th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] On the 25th, Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, expressed his position regarding the collective opposition of senior police officials to the establishment of the Police Bureau, stating, "The Police Bureau is unrelated to public security duties, and collective actions such as the conference of police superintendents are inappropriate."

In a statement released that day, Minister Lee pointed out, "It is highly inappropriate for police superintendents, who are the chiefs responsible for public security at police stations, to engage in collective actions while mentioning public security duties, which are unrelated to the organization and tasks of the Police Bureau, distorting the background and purpose of its establishment."

Minister Lee emphasized, "They claim the Police Bureau's establishment was rushed while advocating for police independence, but the method of having a minister belonging to the executive branch formed by a president elected through elections control the police is democratic control by the people. There is no country in the world where the police are independent, as even the police in Germany and France are under the control of the Ministry of the Interior. This is about creating an organization that should have already existed, even if belatedly."

Following the suspension of Superintendent Ryu Sam-young, who led the nationwide police chiefs' meeting opposing the establishment of the Police Bureau on the 23rd, Minister Lee publicly issued a warning message by defining the collective action as "disobedience to orders."

Minister Lee stated, "Some argue that there is no problem with the conference of police superintendents by comparing it to the conference of prosecutors, but the conference of prosecutors and the police chiefs' meeting are clearly different," adding, "The conference of prosecutors was neither prohibited nor ordered to disband, and prosecutors only performed the role of conveying opinions within their affiliated prosecution offices. However, this police chiefs' meeting involved regional public security chiefs who can mobilize coercive and physical force gathering outside their jurisdictions."

Minister Lee said, "Despite clear orders to disband before and during the meeting, this police chiefs' meeting involved disobedience to lawful duty orders," and added, "I believe the National Police Agency will conduct a strict investigation into the illegality of this matter and take subsequent measures."

Minister Lee reiterated the purpose of establishing the Police Bureau by citing cases such as the illegal election in Ulsan and the forced repatriation of North Korean fishermen.

He explained, "Previous governments ignored the systems and chains mandated by the Constitution and laws and covertly directed police work through police officers dispatched to the Presidential Office, such as the Security Secretary of the Civil Affairs Office. Under such a system, illegal acts like the unlawful deployment of police special forces can occur, and, as in the case of the murdered Coast Guard officer, it becomes difficult to know or disclose how incidents are handled."

Minister Lee emphasized that the establishment of the Police Bureau is the creation of a fourth police department completely independent alongside the judiciary, legislature, and executive branches.

He continued, "The newly established Police Bureau is clearly different from the former Security Headquarters, which directly performed public security duties, and it does not perform public security duties stipulated in Article 23 of the Government Organization Act, which opposition parties have raised issues about," adding, "It is an organization with the minimum necessary personnel and structure to perform the duties specifically defined by law as the authority and responsibility of the Minister of the Interior and Safety."

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