Dispatch to the Police Bureau: Those Who Refuse to Go Are Selected, Those Who Want to Go Are Not Allowed

Unfairness Without Internal Recruitment
Rising Complaints Over 'Dapjeongneo' Personnel Decisions

Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min visited the Police Bureau within the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 2nd, cheering with the staff. The Police Bureau, an organization responsible for police affairs within the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, officially launched on this day. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Police officer A received a call last weekend asking whether he wished to be dispatched to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's Police Bureau. Officer A firmly declined. Nevertheless, his name was included in the personnel announcement for the Police Bureau released by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on the 1st, a day before the bureau's launch. Officer A is currently reporting to the Police Bureau at the Government Seoul Office located in Jongno-gu, Seoul. He said, "I clearly expressed my refusal when they inquired about my willingness, yet the personnel decision was made," adding, "I still find it absurd."

Police officer B had hoped early on to be dispatched to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's Police Bureau. Although concerned about the internal opposition to the establishment of the Police Bureau, he thought the dispatch would be another opportunity for him. However, there was no way to volunteer. There was no internal recruitment, and even when he inquired with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, he was only told that the personnel selection process was ongoing. Officer B said, "I understand that quite a few people wanted to be dispatched to the Police Bureau, but no opportunity to volunteer was given," and added, "In this day and age, how can personnel be handled like this?"

There is considerable dissatisfaction within the police regarding the personnel selection process for dispatched staff to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's Police Bureau, which launched on the 2nd. Police Bureau Chief Kim Sun-ho stated, "We selected Police Bureau staff based on expertise and volunteers," but many voices express skepticism about fairness and transparency. According to a compilation of Asia Economy's reporting on the 3rd, the personnel selection process began on the 26th of last month, when the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's organizational reform decree, centered on the establishment of the Police Bureau, was submitted to and approved by the Cabinet meeting. After the National Police Agency prepared a list of recommended personnel, an internal dispatch review committee shortlisted twice the number of candidates and submitted it to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

The dissatisfaction raised within the police stems from the fact that there was no internal recruitment process when compiling the list of recommended personnel. It is said that fairness was not ensured and that it was effectively a ‘pre-decided personnel’ process. A police official said, "If there had been a recruitment process, all employees wishing to join the Police Bureau would have had a fair chance," adding, "Because there was no recruitment procedure, it seems that people who did not even want to be dispatched ended up going."

Experts evaluate that internal recruitment was difficult from the start regarding the Police Bureau personnel selection. Professor Hoon Lee of the Department of Police Administration at Chosun University said, "According to personnel regulations, since it is the authority of the appointing officer, there is no absolute need to conduct recruitment," and added, "Considering the internal atmosphere, there was significant opposition to the establishment of the Police Bureau. If they had publicly recruited people to join through a recruitment process, that procedure would have further divided the organization."

The Police Bureau, an organization responsible for police affairs within the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, officially launched on the 2nd. The photo shows the office of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety Police Bureau set up inside the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The rushed nature of the personnel selection process is also problematic. Since the establishment of the Police Bureau had become a foregone conclusion even before the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's enforcement decree was approved, sufficient prior personnel verification should have been conducted. Ultimately, because the personnel selection began hastily just a week before the Police Bureau's launch, there are criticisms that personnel with past disciplinary records were included, causing controversy. Previously, it was revealed late that an employee belonging to the Police Bureau had brought family members to a police shooting range in 2019, resulting in a suspension and a minor disciplinary action, which sparked controversy.

There are also voices expressing regret over the ‘opaque personnel selection.’ One police officer posted on the internal network ‘Polnet’ that morning, questioning, "Why are the personnel appointment notices for the autonomous police announced on the Polnet bulletin board, but the appointment notices for the police superintendent general are not on the National Police Agency bulletin board?" He then said, "It seems like a bitter world where the personnel appointments for the Police Bureau, created to support the police organization, are only accessible through the media rather than the National Police Agency bulletin board."