"Regrettable" "No problem, they said"... Police Chief Avoids Responsibility for 'Jeong Sun-shin's Fall'

Yoon Hee-geun, the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency, repeatedly made remarks suggesting that he is not involved in the dismissal of the head of the National Investigation Headquarters. Calls for his resignation and criticism are growing louder.

On the 27th, Yoon attended a closed meeting of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee and reportedly said, "The National Police Agency has no authority to verify personnel during the appointment process of the head of the National Investigation Headquarters and only receives reports." According to opposition party member Yoon Gun-young, he stated, "We were informed that the personnel verification result for lawyer Jeong Soon-shin was 'no issues found'." The personnel verification for lawyer Jeong was conducted by the Ministry of Justice's personnel verification team, not the National Police Agency, and the issue of his son's school violence was not discovered during this process.

Yoon Hee-geun, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, is checking the time while attending the full meeting of the Intelligence Committee held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 27th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

However, some criticize these remarks as attempts to evade responsibility. The head of the National Investigation Headquarters is appointed through a process where the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency exercises the right to recommend based on the results of the Police Personnel Recommendation Review Committee (Review Committee), and the President makes the appointment. Although the Ministry of Justice and the Presidential Office participate in personnel verification, the Commissioner General is effectively the primary person responsible for the verification and holds considerable influence throughout the process.

Earlier that day, before attending the National Assembly Intelligence Committee, Yoon met with reporters at the National Police Agency in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, and expressed regret over lawyer Jeong’s resignation, saying, "I find it unfortunate." This statement could be interpreted as a stance close to that of a third party, rather than taking responsibility for the failure in personnel verification as the recommender. Naturally, internal criticism arose, labeling his remarks as "disconnected from reality."

Yoon is currently facing internal calls for resignation due to this incident. Dissatisfaction among internal members has been accumulating since the establishment of the Police Bureau under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and criticism has intensified over his recommendation of a prosecutor to lead the National Investigation Headquarters despite internal opposition. However, when asked by reporters about calls for his resignation, Yoon avoided a direct answer, saying, "I am always considering my position."

Internal dissatisfaction with Commissioner Yoon appears to have reached its limit, fueled by controversies such as alleged personnel retaliation against attendees of a police superintendent meeting opposing the establishment of the Police Bureau earlier this month, and ongoing doubts about his organizational control since taking office. Both inside and outside the police force, there is growing support for the view that Yoon, who caused the personnel turmoil at the National Investigation Headquarters, should take responsibility and resign.

The National Police Officers’ Association, a police union equivalent, also issued a statement yesterday afternoon saying, "If Commissioner Yoon is undermining the neutrality of the police, which is protected by the Constitution and laws, he must not forget that he can no longer fulfill his duties as Commissioner General." The statement received supportive comments such as, "Watching the organization collapse while being unable to speak out confidently shows that he is an incompetent Commissioner General who should acknowledge this and resign."

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