[Reporter’s Notebook] Police Chief’s Leadership Put to the Test

"Deputy Commissioner Jo Byeong-no was not merely demoted; he was clearly demoted."

This was said regarding Police Commissioner Jo Ji-ho’s decision on the 19th to transfer Deputy Commissioner Jo from the head of Suwon Nambu Police Station to the head of the Life Safety Department at the Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency. Deputy Commissioner Jo is a key figure in the ‘customs drug investigation pressure’ allegations.

However, on the 20th, at the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee hearing on the customs drug investigation pressure allegations, Deputy Commissioner Jo appeared far too confident to be considered someone who had been demoted. Although Commissioner Jo used the term demotion, within the police force there are also opinions that the transfer to Jeonnam Police Agency was essentially a lateral move. This means it is difficult to view it as a disciplinary demotion.

Deputy Commissioner Jo is accused of exerting pressure to remove the Korea Customs Service from the press release ahead of a media briefing when Superintendent Baek Hae-ryong (former head of the Criminal Division at Yeongdeungpo Police Station, Seoul) was investigating suspicions of collusion between drug syndicates and customs officials. Deputy Commissioner Jo claimed that he was merely verifying facts in preparation for the National Assembly audit of the Korea Customs Service. Despite violating the Anti-Graft Act and guidelines prohibiting inquiries into ongoing cases, there was no sense of guilt in his statements.

In February, the National Police Agency requested the Ministry of Personnel Management to convene the Central Disciplinary Committee, but no disciplinary action was taken against Deputy Commissioner Jo. Instead, a non-punishment disposition was issued, stating that although Deputy Commissioner Jo’s actions appeared inappropriate, they could not be definitively classified as case inquiries, making it difficult to hold him disciplinarily responsible. Among the 33 senior police officers referred to the Central Disciplinary Committee from 2020 to June this year, Deputy Commissioner Jo is the only one to have received a non-punishment disposition.

On the other hand, Superintendent Baek, who arrested dozens of international syndicate members smuggling 74 kg of methamphetamine, faced severe disciplinary measures. Commissioner Jo, then head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, issued a warning to Superintendent Baek last month for violating public relations regulations and transferred him to the position of head of the Hwagok Precinct at Gangseo Police Station in Seoul, a demotion. The violation involved failing to report investigation details to higher authorities in advance when publicizing cases. However, since 2021 until July this year, there has been only one case of disciplinary or warning action under this regulation?an April warning issued for posting some investigation details on a personal social media account. Superintendent Baek filed an objection to the warning but received no response. The controversy over ‘targeted inspection’ against Superintendent Baek was a problem the police brought upon themselves.

Throughout the hearing, Commissioner Jo repeatedly made only the general statement that "(Deputy Commissioner Jo’s actions) were indeed wrong." If the intention was to just get through the day of the hearing, that was a miscalculation. Even if the judgment on the customs drug investigation pressure is deferred, comparing the disciplinary actions against Deputy Commissioner Jo and Superintendent Baek makes it difficult to accept the fairness of the decisions.

The National Police Agency should apologize for undermining public trust in the police through unfair disciplinary measures. Appropriate responsibility should be held by Deputy Commissioner Jo, and the warning and disciplinary actions against Superintendent Baek should be withdrawn. Only by correcting these mistakes now can the independence of police investigations be expected. It must be remembered that the entire nation is paying attention to the normalization of abnormal situations.

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