Police Cross the Line with 'Sexual Misconduct'... Yoon Hee-geun Holds Emergency Meeting with Provincial Police Chiefs to 'Restore Discipline'

'Sexual Misconduct Prevention Measures Meeting' Held with Attendance of National City and Provincial Police Chiefs

The police are taking steps to restore organizational discipline in response to the recent series of sexual misconduct issues involving frontline police officers.

On the morning of the 26th, Yoon Hee-geun, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, convened the heads of police agencies from across the country for a 'Sexual Misconduct Prevention Measures Meeting.' This meeting was not originally scheduled but was urgently called following recent media reports exposing moral laxity within the police organization due to officers' sexual crimes.

Yoon Hee-geun, Commissioner of the National Police Agency. Photo by Yonhap News

The police have been struggling with sexual misconduct cases recently. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced that it has booked and is investigating Sergeant A from the Seongdong Police Station in Seoul on charges of violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Traffic. Sergeant A is accused of engaging in prostitution at a brothel located in Nowon-gu, Seoul, last month. It is known that Sergeant A was caught during a vice crackdown by the Seoul Police Agency and is currently on standby status.

On the 21st, Police Officer B from the Seongdong Police Station in Seoul was arrested on charges of having sexual relations with a minor. B is accused of having sexual relations more than ten times with a teenage minor whom he met through social networking services (SNS). Additionally, Police Inspector C from the Jungbu Police Station in Seoul was placed on standby for sexual harassment charges, and Sergeant D from the Suseo Police Station in Seoul was booked on charges of forcible molestation and is also on standby. Officer E from the Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency was sent to prosecution custody on the 12th for illegally filming sexual encounters with about ten women he met through a matchmaking app.

The number of police officers disciplined for sexual misconduct is also increasing every year. According to the National Police Agency, the number of officers disciplined for sexual misconduct was 69 in 2020, 61 in 2021, and surged to 79 last year.

Currently, the National Police Agency provides gender-sensitivity education and sexual harassment and sexual violence prevention training annually for all sergeants, lasting one hour and two hours respectively. Although both trainings are mandatory, there are criticisms that their fundamental preventive effect on police officers' sexual misconduct is low. A National Police Agency official stated, "There are no penalties for not attending the training, and it is also conducted through video lectures or remote education."

Heo Min-sook, a researcher at the National Assembly Legislative Research Office, said, "Group education is difficult to fully absorb and sometimes just fills the seat," adding, "It is worth considering improving the training methods to increase participation and exploring measures to sanction habitual absentees."

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