National Police Agency Human Rights Commission: "Police Recruitment 'Unified Physical Fitness Test for Men and Women' Must Be Implemented Nationwide in 2023"

Police Agency building. [Photo by Police Agency]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The Police Agency Human Rights Committee has recommended the unified implementation of the 'gender-integrated physical fitness test' to be conducted during the police officer recruitment process starting in 2023. It also requested a reconsideration of the inclusion of the 'trigger pull' event among the physical fitness test categories.

According to the police on the 29th, the Police Agency Human Rights Committee held a regular meeting on the 16th of this month and made this recommendation to Police Commissioner Kim Chang-ryong.

The Police Agency Human Rights Committee evaluated the newly introduced circular physical fitness test by the police as "more suitable for job requirements than the existing event-based tests, with higher standards than the average physical fitness criteria of the general public, and not advantageous or disadvantageous to any specific gender, making it more appropriate than the previous physical fitness test methods."

Last month, the police finalized the 'Plan to Introduce Gender-Integrated Police Physical Fitness Test.' The new physical fitness test consists of five courses: ▲obstacle running ▲pole hurdle jumping ▲pushing and pulling ▲rescue ▲trigger pulling. Candidates must wear a 4.2 kg vest, which is the weight of the equipment carried during police field duties, and pass the courses in a circular format under the same standards for both men and women to qualify.

The Police Agency plans to first implement this test on January 1, 2023, for some groups such as police university students and police officer candidates, with full implementation including the police constable recruitment scheduled for 2026. The reasons cited were the difficulty in predicting gender-based pass rates in integrated selection and the challenges candidates face in preparing for the physical fitness test amid the COVID-19 situation.

However, the Police Agency Human Rights Committee viewed this decision as unreasonable. The committee pointed out, "There is no correlation between gender-based pass rates and police security capabilities," and added, "Even if candidates have insufficient preparation time, the test is applied equally to all examinees, so there is no issue."

Concerns were also raised about the trigger pull event among the circular physical fitness test categories. The Police Agency Human Rights Committee stated, "In Korea, possession and use of firearms are prohibited by law, and police use of firearms is not common," and noted, "It is rare to find active police officers unable to shoot due to difficulties with trigger pulling, except in cases of injury." They further said, "It is necessary to analyze whether the trigger pull event aligns with the physical fitness test requirements for police officer recruitment and its relevance to the duties of Korean police, and to reconsider and improve the inclusion of this event."