[2023 National Audit] Police Chief: "On-site Security Strengthening Reorganization Is Not a Weakening of Investigative Power"

On the 12th, during the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee's audit of the National Police Agency, concerns were raised about the weakening of investigative capabilities regarding the organizational restructuring plan proposed by the National Police Agency to strengthen on-site public security.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Yoon Hee-geun, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, stated at the audit held at the agency's headquarters in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, "Investigation and on-site public security are not separate; the police's investigative and security capabilities are closely connected," adding, "The organizational restructuring of the police is being pursued as a response to recent abnormal motive crimes and criticisms that on-site public security has weakened since COVID-19."

Lim Ho-seon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized, "Taking personnel from the criminal investigation department, which has become an avoided department due to workload overload, to assign them to patrol duties is regressive and completely contrary to the demands of the field."

In response, Commissioner Yoon said, "The direction is to reduce administrative management personnel and move them to the field, but while it is easy to distribute those personnel to district police stations and police boxes, we considered how this would be viewed from the public's perspective," adding, "We chose the plan to operate the Mobile Patrol Unit and the Criminal Mobile Unit, and please understand it as an expansion and reorganization of the existing Violent Crime Investigation Unit." He continued, "There is also the method of receiving a large number of personnel from outside, which the police naturally want, but it requires budget and time," and added, "This organizational restructuring started from the consideration of whether the current workforce of 140,000 can be efficiently utilized to enhance on-site public security."

Meanwhile, the National Police Agency announced the organizational restructuring plan on the 8th of last month. According to the plan, about 2,900 police officers will be assigned to frontline 'Mobile Patrol Units' through department mergers and reductions in internal administrative personnel. Some personnel from metropolitan and provincial police headquarters and violent crime teams at police stations will be reorganized into approximately 1,300 members of regional 'Criminal Mobile Units.'

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