Gwangju Police, "Measures to Ensure Neutrality" Amid Forced Establishment of Police Bureau

Gwangju Police Agency Holds 'Police System Improvement Meeting'... Participants Mostly in Agreement

"Concerns Over Politicization of Police Due to Personnel Authority"... Claims of "High Illegality" in Command Regulation Proposal

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] On the 28th, five days before the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's 'Establishment of Police Bureau' plan is implemented, Gwangju police continued their opposition.

They expressed their intention to continue activities at the workplace council level to prepare measures for police neutrality even if the system is implemented.

The Gwangju Police Agency held a 'Police System Improvement Meeting' from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM on the 28th.

A total of 60 people attended the meeting, including Im Yong-hwan, Chief of Gwangju Police Agency, Park Jung-soo, Chairman of the Workplace Council, and representatives from five police stations. There were more opinions expressed than expected, causing a 30-minute delay beyond the scheduled time.

Strong concerns were mainly expressed that the powerful personnel authority exercised through the Police Bureau within the Ministry of the Interior and Safety could shake the police organization. It was argued that this could lead to the 'politicization of the police' swayed by the influence of the Minister of the Interior and Safety.

The core task of the Police Bureau is to propose personnel appointments for about 770 senior police officers at the rank of Senior Superintendent or above. In practice, its influence extends to the rank of Superintendent, who are middle managers.

Although the Minister of the Interior and Safety's 'recommendation authority' is included in the Police Bureau's duties and there is no significant change from the existing framework, concerns were raised that it could be abused as a 'distorted control tool.'

This is similar to the criticism that Minister Lee Sang-min's 'pre-interview' controversy regarding candidates for the Commissioner General and Police Chief undermined the Police Chief's recommendation authority.

One police officer stated, "Although there is no content that the Police Bureau will exercise the recommendation authority, it will exercise personnel authority including the recommendation authority through the Police Bureau."

He added, "They say the police have become stronger after the adjustment of investigative authority, but what strength does the police, who mainly handle public safety crimes, really have?" and criticized, "It is a policy too detached from reality where investigations are being abandoned due to increased workload."

There were also criticisms that despite 'public safety' not being specified as a duty under the Government Organization Act under the jurisdiction of the Minister of the Interior and Safety, a rule regarding the command of affiliated chiefs has been created, constituting an act of overreach.

The rule includes provisions such as reporting and obtaining approval from the minister for the establishment of basic police plans, which require the enactment or amendment of laws. From the police perspective, this means "the Minister of the Interior and Safety intends to be deeply involved in public safety affairs."

Regarding the policy for promotion of senior officers from the rank of patrol officer, it was described as "something that does not resonate and is a divisive tactic."

Not all voices were oppositional. Some opinions were also expressed, such as "Let's calmly and coolly observe the current situation" and "We should be more faithful to the basic duties of the police."

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