Reinitiating the 140,000 Police Assembly... Sergeant Ryu Geun-chang Takes Over and Pushes Forward

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The nationwide police meeting opposing the establishment of the Police Bureau under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, involving 140,000 officers, is being relaunched. Although Kim Seongjong, Superintendent of the Gwangjin Police Station in Seoul and the original proposer of the meeting, expressed his intention to voluntarily withdraw, Ryu Geunchang, Superintendent and head of the Yangdeok District Police Substation at Masan Dongbu Police Station in Gyeongnam, has taken over and indicated his determination to proceed.

On the morning of the 27th, Superintendent Ryu posted on the internal police network, stating, "As a colleague who proposed that all district chiefs and substation chiefs nationwide also participate in the team leaders' meeting, we will hold the event at 2 p.m. on the 30th." He added, "Since there are venues nearby, we will not limit the location to the Police Human Resources Development Institute." He continued, "It is realistically difficult to prepare an event with many colleagues attending immediately," but added, "Even if only a few colleagues gather, we will create an event that elegantly reflects the effect of all 140,000 police officers coming together."

On the 25th, Superintendent Ryu had requested the attendance of all district chiefs and substation chiefs nationwide at the on-site team leaders' meeting initially proposed by Superintendent Kim a day earlier via the internal network. Superintendent Kim accepted this request and announced plans on the 26th to expand the meeting to include all 140,000 police officers, but withdrew the plan the following morning. This was interpreted as a decision influenced by the internal and external circumstances surrounding the police.

Previously, Superintendent General Ryu Samyoung, who led the nationwide police chiefs' meeting and was placed on standby, discouraged the full 140,000 police meeting on the afternoon of the previous day via the internal network, stating, "Police officers organizing another gathering may cause public concern." On the same day, the National Police Agency announced a nationwide tour schedule of provincial police agencies to collect opinions from on-site police officers at the rank of superintendent and below. Additionally, President Yoon Seok-yeol criticized such collective actions as "disruption of national order" during his commute the previous day, and Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min likened it to a "coup d'?tat."

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