"Hard to Endure on Duty Alone"... Surge in Resignations Among Young Police Officers

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The number of police officers with less than 10 years of experience retiring has nearly tripled in the past four years. There are concerns that the large outflow of junior officers, who are responsible for fieldwork, could weaken the police's ability to respond to incidents.

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According to data submitted by the National Police Agency to Rep. Jo Eun-hee of the People Power Party on the 10th, the number of police officers with less than 10 years of experience who retired last year was 331, a 198% increase compared to 111 in 2020. During the same period, the number of police officers with 10 to less than 20 years of experience who retired last year was 127, up 95% from 65 in 2020.

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According to the National Police Agency, the majority of these retirements were due to 'uiwonmyeonjik' (voluntary resignation). 'Uiwonmyeonjik' refers to cases where national public officials voluntarily resign and their resignation is accepted. Among some junior active-duty police officers, there are remarks such as "I will only serve the minimum 10 years required to receive the public official retirement pension and then take off the uniform" or "I am preparing to become a firefighter."

Police officers who have retired or are considering retirement cite insufficient compensation relative to the heavy workload as the cause. Officer A, a former patrol officer who left the force after three years, said, "I work overnight duty every other day, and my overtime exceeds 60 hours a month, but I do not receive any pay for overtime beyond 60 hours." He added, "The treatment is poor, such as having to write a statement to receive overtime pay, which led me to retire."

Retired police officer B, who worked as a detective, said, "The mental distress from frequently dealing with death cases is significant compared to the small compensation, which is a major reason for retirement," and added, "The four-shift work system disrupts life patterns and worsens health, which is another reason for retirement."

Mobile unit member C, who was deployed at every pro- and anti-presidential impeachment rally held in major downtown areas of Seoul this year, is considering retirement. C said, "There were times when conservative and progressive YouTubers pointed cameras at us and caused humiliation," and added, "I joined the police out of a sense of duty, but when faced with reality, I feel a great sense of dissonance."

There is also a decrease in police exam candidates, according to the atmosphere in the academy scene. A representative of a police academy in Noryangjin said, "Even though this academy attracts the largest number of students nationwide, the number of students has been gradually decreasing compared to the previous year." The competition rate for patrol officer public recruitment is also steadily declining. The competition rate for patrol officer recruitment in the first half of 2025 was 10.1 to 1 for men, sharply down to about one-third of the 30.93 to 1 rate in 2019.

Some express concern that the reduction of personnel closely involved in fieldwork could weaken the police's field response capabilities. In particular, patrol officers and corporals are key personnel responsible for frontline security duties such as district police station patrols and 112 emergency call responses. Additionally, since police personnel undergo extensive training at the Central Police Academy before joining, early retirement inevitably leads to a waste of training costs.

Professor Lee Woong-hyuk of Konkuk University’s Department of Police Science said, "Frequent police retirements can lead to a decline in the cohesion of the entire organization, beyond just a shortage of personnel," and added, "The currently vacant police leadership needs to be restored as soon as possible, and attention should be paid to police personnel management."

In response, a National Police Agency official said, "We have continuously made internal efforts, such as revising laws to shorten the minimum service period required for promotion, to prevent junior police officers from retiring," but added, "Early retirement of police officers is a structural problem intertwined with the entire public service sector, so a government-wide approach is necessary."

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