No Salary Reduction Due to Impeachment Suspension
Monthly Pre-Tax Salary of 13.54 Million Won from January to November
Cho Jiho, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, who was impeached in December last year for his alleged involvement in the December 3 Martial Law, has continued to receive an annual salary in the hundreds of millions of won for a year.
On December 10, Yonhap News reported that Commissioner Cho received 14.35 million won in December last year, immediately after the martial law, and 13.54 million won per month from January to November this year, totaling 163.29 million won (before tax) over the past year.
Commissioner Cho was urgently arrested during a police investigation on December 11 last year and was indicted in January this year on charges of commanding the restriction of access to the National Assembly on the day martial law was declared (engaging in significant insurrection-related duties). However, before the indictment, Cho was suspended from duty on December 12 last year when the impeachment motion passed the National Assembly’s plenary session.
Normally, when a police officer is brought to trial, they are removed from their position, resulting in a 40% reduction in salary and a 50% reduction in other allowances. However, under Article 65, Paragraph 3 of the Constitution, if an official is impeached, their duties are suspended but their status as an incumbent commissioner is maintained, so their salary continues to be paid in full until the Constitutional Court’s decision is reached.
As a result, since the Constitutional Court has not yet reached a conclusion, Commissioner Cho has continued to receive his full salary for a year without performing any work. This has led to criticism that the prolonged impeachment trial has created an institutional vacuum.
Kim Bongsik, former Commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, who was indicted alongside Commissioner Cho on charges of engaging in significant insurrection-related duties, was removed from his position and had his salary reduced, receiving 2.27 million won (before tax) from May to November this year. His monthly salary prior to martial law was 12.91 million won.
Similarly, Mok Hyuntae, former Chief of the National Assembly Guard, and Yoon Seungyoung, former Director of Investigation Planning and Coordination at the National Police Agency, who were brought to trial for allegedly directing the restriction of access to the National Assembly or participating in the operation of arrest teams under orders from police leadership, also had their positions suspended and reportedly received monthly salaries of 1.78 million won and 2.09 million won, respectively, until recently.
With the impeachment of Commissioner Cho delayed, the National Police Agency has been operating under the “Deputy Commissioner Acting Commissioner” system for a year. The impeachment trial for Commissioner Cho concluded its arguments on November 10, and a verdict is expected as early as within this year. However, since a separate criminal trial is ongoing, it is widely expected that Commissioner Cho will not be able to return to work as Commissioner of the National Police Agency.
Commissioner Cho, who is suffering from blood cancer, was initially investigated while in detention, but after being granted bail by the court in January this year, he is currently standing trial in the first instance without detention.
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