Monday, July 25, 2022

South Korean police resist return to the past

(Source- MBC News, 7.24) Police Chief Ryu Sam-yeong, Ulsan Central District Police Commander. organized a meeting of senior police officials to publicly oppose the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's move to subject the National Police Agency to direction, supervision, and management by the Ministry of Interior and Safety. This is a relationship that prevailed during the dictatorship period of South Korean governance and was eliminated by legislation in 1991 making the National Police Agency an independent non-political organization. Ryu said:

"Such a move is unacceptable. That's the gist of it. A return to the mistakes of the past, is clearly what this talk is about. During the prior era when the Command of the National Police was within to the Ministry of Interior, many democratic martyrs were sacrificed at the hands of police. Why was it like that? Because the police were subordinated to the political power of the Ministry."

"The establishment of a new police bureau doesn't act a restraint on police power, rather it is the opposite of restraint. Retraint must be democratic in nature. Now, It is the National Police Committee that operates as a check on the police institutionally. If that is insufficient, upgrade it, ensure its members are politically independent, realizing true contraint must be realized democratically. However, to remove this system of democratically accepted regulation of the police by the National Police Committee, is to impose ministerial control. This is far from the customary democratic practice."


Commanders and other ranking police officials who participated in the Police Commanders Meeting July 23 were swiftly subjected to disciplinary procedures by the Interior Ministry. Reportedly, 50 officers attended the meeting directly, and more online. Later, it was reported that hundreds of officers sent Mugunghwa floral wreaths in support of the meeting. Commander Ryu was informed he was removed from his post on the way home from the meeting and to clear his personal effects from his office. It was later clarified by the presidential office chief that Ryu faces expulsion from the police force.

The Minister of the Interior and Safety, Lee Sang-min, claimed Ryu had violated a prohibition on gathering an assembly of public employees but was unable to specificy the specific law violated. The officers met off duty and traveled at their own expense. He characterized Ryu's action as an unconstitutional coup d'etat. This was an interesting reversal as it is the change in government organization by executive fiat without legislation that is unconstitutional according to those opposed to the move by the presidential office. The minister was questioned at a legislative hearing if a meeting of attorneys (a reference to a meeting called by Yoon as prosecutor general to defy the authority of the Minister of Justice?) had been illegal. Lee Sang-min denied this. Then he was asked if private assemblies of prosecutors for meetings were prohibited. "That's different" was the response. On a police social media net an officer asked, "Is a meeting of the National Public Prosecutors Association illegal?".

Prosecution reform legislation passed during the previous session of the National Assembly removed the monopoly of investigative powers from the Public Prosecutors Offices and transferred those investigation powers to police agencies. The effort by the Yoon government to subject the National Police Agency to the control of the Ministry of Interior and Safety is regarded as an attack on the independence and political neutrality of police offices and a "Chu Doo-hwan like" effort to subject police nationally to a an oppressive political monopoly dominated by President Yoon's office.

Another meeting of lesser ranking supervisory police personnel in support of those higher ranking officers subject to review or discipline concerning the July 23 meeting is scheduuled for July 30.


"대기발령 오히려 잘됐다" 류삼영 총경 작심 인터뷰
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2WCWSk0xOY

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