Gwangju Regional and Local Council Members: "140,000 Police, Return to Past Public Security Rule"

Statement Issued Strongly Condemning the Establishment of the Police Bureau by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Metropolitan and local council members in the Gwangju area voiced their condemnation of the establishment of the Police Bureau promoted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

Council members of Gwangju Metropolitan City and five autonomous district councils affiliated with the Democratic Party of Korea expressed concerns in a statement on the 3rd, saying, "The forced establishment of the Police Bureau is an act that ignores the police's reflection and remorse for past incidents such as the torture death of Park Jong-cheol and investigations conducted to suit the regime's tastes, and it is an anachronistic behavior that goes against the direction and philosophy of police organizational reform."

They criticized, "This is a regression of history and can only be seen as an intention to revert the 140,000 police officers to past public security governance."

They further pointed out, "Considering that public security is excluded from the duties of the Minister of the Interior and Safety under the current Government Organization Act, the establishment of the Police Bureau has no legal basis," and added, "The government, which pushed for the establishment of the Police Bureau through subordinate laws such as enforcement ordinances and ministerial decrees rather than the Government Organization Act, has rather flagrantly violated the law and ultimately infringed upon the basic rights of the people."

In particular, they mentioned, "Although the government claims to establish the Police Bureau to secure transparency in investigations through checks and supervision of the bloated police organization, this is nothing more than a superficial guise."

The city and district council members criticized, "If the Minister of the Interior and Safety gains strong authority such as command and personnel rights over the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency, the independence and neutrality of the police investigating the people will inevitably be significantly undermined," and urged the government to immediately cancel the establishment of the Police Bureau that undermines police neutrality and independence, to fully reconsider police reform measures, and to dismiss the Minister of the Interior and Safety.

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