[Crime Insight] The 'Yeo-gyeong Ineffectiveness Debate' Resurfaces... Internal Diagnosis Comes Before Blind Criticism or Defense

Increasing Proportion of Female Officers
Distrust Persists Within Police
Analyzing Reasons for Repeated Controversies
Must Reflect on Core Mission of 'Protecting the People'

"1.6 million cases." This is the approximate number of crimes occurring annually in South Korea. Crime types are diverse, including violent crimes, intellectual crimes, traffic crimes, and cybercrimes, and their methods are increasingly evolving. In a reality where anyone can become a victim, awareness of crime is necessary. covers analyses of major domestic crime trends, introduces crime prevention and response methods, and shares stories from the field of public safety. This week's topic is the controversy over the "ineffectiveness of female police officers," reignited by the 'inter-floor noise stabbing' incident in Incheon.

A man in his 40s, identified as Mr. A, who is accused of injuring three members of a neighboring family with a weapon over noise disputes between floors, is entering the Incheon District Court in Michuhol-gu, Incheon City on the afternoon of the 17th to undergo a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant hearing).
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] Amid criticism of the police's inadequate response to the 'inter-floor noise stabbing' incident in Incheon, the debate over the "ineffectiveness of female police officers" has intensified. Controversies surrounding female officers' field responses resurface periodically and become targets of ridicule on internet communities. It is a fact that criticism has been raised not only externally but also within the police regarding female officers, so dismissing the "female police ineffectiveness" argument as mere "misogyny" from some quarters is insufficient.

Of course, most female police officers tirelessly dedicate themselves to public safety activities nationwide, and it is true that not all female officers need to be dispatched to incident scenes. Moreover, there are areas where female officers are essential, such as investigations and criminal cases involving female victims, crowd control at protests, domestic violence, and sexual violence crimes. However, despite repeated controversies in the past, it is questionable whether proper inspections, investigations, and measures for improvement have been implemented. This is why there are calls for the police to review and reform their internal organizational culture and atmosphere.

Increasing Proportion of Female Officers... Ridicule Persists

Public interest in female police officers inevitably continues to grow. Since the inauguration of the Moon Jae-in administration, the proportion of women among general police officers nationwide has increased annually: 11.7% in 2018, 12.6% in 2019, and 13.4% in 2020. The number of female recruits has also significantly increased; this year, among the 2,700 candidates in the first stage of the police constable recruitment (excluding the 101st unit), 739 (27.3%) were women, and in the second stage, 582 out of 2,128 (24.8%) were female.

As the number of female officers protecting public safety increases, so does the scrutiny from civil society and within the police. Since some degree of distrust toward female officers has accumulated over time, new controversies often exacerbate the situation, like "adding fuel to the fire." Indeed, when the inter-floor noise stabbing incident became known, some online communities dredged up past controversies and used derogatory expressions to ridicule female officers.

However, extreme solutions such as "eliminating female officers" are not effective. There are clearly areas where female officers are necessary. Just as not all firefighters put out fires, not all police officers arrest criminals or respond to incidents. Min Gwan-gi, representative of the National Police Workplace Council Solidarity, explained, "There are many cases where female officers are needed on the scene, such as responding to domestic violence or sexual violence."

Even Within the Police, "There Are Gender Differences in Job Performance"

Distrust of female officers exists even within the police. In 2018, the Seoul National University Sports Science Research Institute conducted a survey of 6,137 male and female police officers as part of a research project to establish physical fitness standards for integrated male and female recruitment at the Police University and officer candidate selection. In this survey, 72.6% of male officers responded negatively to the question "Should there be more female police officers than now?" (45.8% said "not at all," 26.8% said "no"). Interestingly, 52.9% of female officers also responded negatively (26.3% "not at all," 26.6% "no"), meaning that both male and female officers did not think the number of female officers should increase.

In in-depth interviews with 25 police officers, most perceived differences in job performance based on gender. Responses included statements such as, "The main reason for distrust of female officers is lack of physical strength. If female officers meet similar physical requirements as male officers, distrust could be resolved," "Honestly, I think most people, including myself, believe female officers' physical fitness is somewhat lacking. Such perceptions are widespread," and "In actual work, female officers do not perform beyond support duties." Overall, there were many voices expressing dissatisfaction with female officers' job performance.

‘Accurate Diagnosis’ for Fulfilling Police Duties Comes First

Solutions to resolve the controversy have been discussed multiple times. A representative measure is selecting and evaluating male and female candidates under the same standards during recruitment. In June this year, the National Police Agency announced the "Introduction Plan for Unified Physical Fitness Tests for Male and Female Police Recruitment," which standardizes physical fitness tests for men and women in the recruitment process. According to this improvement plan, the same physical fitness standards will apply to both genders during police recruitment. It will be applied to Police University students and officer candidate selection from 2023 and fully implemented in all police recruitment processes by 2026. This is regarded as the most significant institutional change to reduce differences between male and female officers in the long term.

However, the main reason this incident sparked public outrage is that the police failed to fulfill their fundamental duty to protect citizens' lives. Song Min-heon, Chief of Incheon Police Agency, stated, "We deeply apologize to the victims for the passive and inadequate response that did not meet citizens' expectations," and added, "We will conduct a thorough internal investigation and hold those responsible strictly accountable." However, merely assigning responsibility will not bring about change. Regardless of whether an officer is male or female, police officers have the duty to protect citizens from criminal threats. It is not enough to end with an internal investigation of an individual officer; a thorough diagnosis of why the same problems recur is necessary to find solutions. It seems the time has come for the police to present those answers to the public.