Ministry of the Interior and Safety to Fully Promote 'Dual System of Autonomous Police'... Autonomous Police Subcommittee Launches on the 25th

Local Police Subcommittee Develops 'Dual-Track Local Police' Model... Pilot Implementation in Sejong, Gangwon, Jeju

On the 15th, ahead of the announcement of the "Police System Improvement Plan," which includes the establishment of the Police Bureau, a police work organization, and the enactment of command rules by the Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety over the Commissioner of the National Police Agency, a conservative group member is holding a picket protest in front of the National Police Agency in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, demanding the dissolution of the National Police Workplace Council. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The institutional improvement to establish a ‘dual system local police’ model, one of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration’s national tasks, and to pilot it in Sejong, Gangwon, and Jeju is being actively promoted.

On the 24th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that the ‘Local Police Subcommittee’ within the Police System Development Committee, a joint public-private government consultative body, will be launched on the 25th at the Government Seoul Office Building and hold its first meeting. The Police System Development Committee is an advisory committee under the Prime Minister, consisting of 10 civilian members including the chairman and 5 members from related ministries.

The Local Police Subcommittee will be composed of three civilian members from the Police System Development Committee?Professor Kim Seon-taek (Korea University), Professor Kang Ki-hong (Korea University of Science and Technology), and Professor Lee Sang-hoon (Daejeon University)?and three government members, with the chairman to be elected from among the civilian members.

The Local Police Subcommittee will first specifically prepare a plan to pilot the dual system local police, which is currently being promoted under a unified model, in Sejong, Gangwon, and Jeju in 2024. Depending on the results of the pilot implementation analysis, a plan to fully implement it nationwide in 2026 will also be considered.

Tasks requiring improvement under the current unified model will also be pursued simultaneously. These include measures to actualize personnel authority of city/provincial local police committees and expand financial support. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Local Police Subcommittee plan to reflect opinions from the city/provincial local police committees, frontline police officers, and related experts?the main actors of local police affairs?from setting specific agendas to preparing detailed plans.

Vice Minister Han Chang-seop said, “Although one year has passed since the launch of the local police, there has been some regret in producing tangible results that residents can practically feel due to the limitations of the current model,” and added, “We will strive to prepare improvement plans for a resident-centered local police system that reflects regional characteristics through the Local Police Subcommittee going forward.”

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