"Police Administrative Officer Also Applies as a Public Official"

Ahead of Autonomous Police System Implementation
Gyeonggi-do Introduces Ordinance on Treatment of Permanent Contract Workers for the First Time

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The first ordinance addressing the treatment of ‘Police Agency Permanent Contract Workers’ (Jumugwan), who had been excluded from discussions related to the implementation of the autonomous police system, has been prepared.

According to the Police Agency Jumugwan Labor Union on the 27th, the draft ordinance titled "Ordinance on the Composition and Operation of the Gyeonggi-do Autonomous Police Affairs and Autonomous Police Committee" includes provisions to "provide support equivalent to that of public officials even to employees who are not public officials performing autonomous police duties." This draft ordinance is scheduled to pass the Gyeonggi-do Provincial Assembly on the 29th. This is the first autonomous police ordinance in Gyeonggi-do to include such language. Ordinances in other local governments only provide support for ‘public officials’ responsible for autonomous police affairs. In such cases, only police officers and general public officials (administrators) working in the police will receive proper support after the autonomous police system is implemented.

However, within the police organization, there are over 3,200 permanent contract workers known as Police Jumugwan nationwide. They are part of the ‘security family’ working at the Police Agency headquarters, city and provincial police agencies, and police stations. They are assigned across various departments, handling civil complaints and various administrative tasks, and some have become ‘veterans’ with over 20 years of experience and expertise. Many Police Jumugwan currently work in departments such as security, traffic, and community safety, which will be managed by the autonomous police in the future. If employment succession is not guaranteed, even these veterans could face massive job losses. A representative of the Police Agency Jumugwan Union stated, "Among the 140,000 police personnel, 3,000 is an extremely small number," and added, "As employment insecurity becomes a reality with the implementation of the autonomous police system, Jumugwan are fearful of the changes."

The Gyeonggi-do ordinance is being praised as a ‘rain in a drought.’ The union expressed, "The Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency Workplace Council and the Autonomous Police Promotion Team have exemplary created an ordinance to prevent discrimination," and said, "This is a great encouragement to Jumugwan nationwide." They continued, "Although they are non-public officials, we hope to share the pain of these family members who have long served in the police organization."