Official Launch of 'Police Bureau', Lee Sang-min "Launched After Overcoming Numerous Obstacles"... Kim Sun-ho, Police Bureau Chief "Resolving Public and Colleague Concerns Through Communication"

Minister Lee visits Police Bureau on 2nd... "Let's strive to make being a founding member of the Police Bureau a proud achievement"
Director Kim Sunho: "A heavy sense of duty... Broadly setting agenda for Institutional Development Committee"

On the morning of the 2nd, when the Police Bureau officially launched, Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, visited the Police Bureau within the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, and shook hands with Woo Ji-wan, Head of the Autonomous Police Support Division of the Police Bureau. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min visited the newly launched Police Bureau, which was established amid controversy, and said, "There were misunderstandings, and while I don't know if it can be called obstruction, we went through numerous difficulties to launch it," adding, "Let's work together so that being a founding member of the Police Bureau becomes the proudest achievement in your careers."

On the 2nd, Minister Lee made these remarks during a visit to the Police Bureau located within the Government Seoul Complex. Seemingly aware of the controversy regarding the backgrounds of the Police Bureau members, he emphasized, "There is no entry route to the Police Bureau; there is only one police force, the police for the people."

The Police Bureau, launched that day, supports the execution of the responsibilities and authority of the Minister of the Interior and Safety, such as the recommendation authority for appointing police officers at the rank of superintendent general or higher, as specifically stipulated in individual laws like the Police Act and the Police Officers Act. The inaugural Police Bureau Chief is Police Superintendent General Kim Soon-ho, currently serving as the Director of the Security Investigation Division at the National Police Agency’s National Investigation Headquarters. The bureau is composed of three divisions?General Support Division, Personnel Support Division, and Autonomous Police Support Division?with a total of 16 members.

The heads of the Personnel Support Division and the Autonomous Police Support Division are all appointed from police backgrounds, while the head of the General Support Division is assigned from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. Among the 16 staff members, 12 are from police backgrounds. Notably, in the Personnel Support Division, all members, including frontline staff, are from police backgrounds. The Ministry plans to assign additional police personnel in the future based on work demands, aiming for over 80% of the staff to be composed of police officers.

Director Kim also met with reporters at the Government Seoul Complex that day and said, "I fully understand the concerns of the public and police colleagues and feel a heavy sense of duty. We will expand communication and empathy to alleviate worries," adding, "I will explain to the media and police colleagues what the Police Bureau does to ensure there are no misunderstandings."

Regarding the Police System Development Committee, which is scheduled to hold its first meeting in August, Kim stated that it will broadly address issues raised by the public and the media. He explained, "Among the roles the Police Bureau must fulfill are the agenda items of the Police System Development Committee," and added, "I will additionally meet with field police officers and broadly set the agenda raised by the public and the media."

Furthermore, when asked about discussions with Yoon Hee-geun, the nominee for Commissioner General of the National Police Agency, Kim said, "Since I worked closely as the head of the hearing preparation team, I know what he thinks and how he plans to lead the police organization," and conveyed, "Because I understand well how the Minister of the Interior and Safety plans to support the police through the Police Bureau, I expressed my expectation that I can play a good role."

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