Yoon Hee-geun's Three Challenges: Police Bureau, Kim Soon-ho Whistleblowing Allegations, and Neutrality

"Illegal" "Control Normalization" Ruling Party and Opposition Clash
Police Chief Meeting Avoids Direct Answer on Disciplinary Withdrawal

Innohoe Activities - Disappearance - Special Recruitment for National Security
Controversy Over Past Allegations Against Police Bureau Chief

National Assembly Clash Over Lee Jae-myung Investigation

On the 8th, Yoon Hee-geun, the nominee for Commissioner of the National Police Agency, attended the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly and delivered an opening statement. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The main points of contention between the ruling and opposition parties at the confirmation hearing for Yoon Hee-geun, the nominee for Commissioner General of the National Police Agency, held at the National Assembly on the 8th, can be summarized into three major issues. These are the controversy over the establishment of the Police Bureau, allegations of Kim Soon-ho, the Police Bureau Chief, acting as an informant, and the political neutrality of the organization. Although the hearing report on nominee Yoon was not adopted due to a failure to reach consensus between the parties, President Yoon Seok-yeol may proceed with the appointment without the report. From nominee Yoon’s perspective, the three issues revealed during the hearing are likely to become challenges to be addressed after assuming office as Commissioner General.

The previous day’s hearing was virtually a hearing on the Police Bureau itself. A significant portion of the hearing was filled with related questions. The opposition Democratic Party of Korea argued that "the establishment of the Police Bureau itself is illegal," while the ruling People Power Party countered with the logic of "legalizing police control." During this process, the ruling party also criticized internal police movements opposing the establishment of the Police Bureau, such as the nationwide police chiefs’ meeting, which created conflicts with the government. People Power Party lawmaker Park Sung-min questioned, "In the past, management control was done behind closed doors by previous governments, but now it has been legalized through the establishment of the Police Bureau. Shouldn’t the police actually support this?" Nominee Yoon expressed partial agreement and said, "I will promptly unite the members and renew the atmosphere."

The disciplinary procedures against the police superintendents who attended the nationwide police chiefs’ meeting have not yet been completed. The opposition party demanded the withdrawal of the disciplinary actions to boost internal morale, but nominee Yoon avoided a direct answer, stating, "I will verify the facts and judge according to the severity of the matter." Depending on the level of discipline, the internal atmosphere could rapidly cool down. Min Kwan-gi, the representative of the Police Workplace Council, who has maintained a confrontational relationship with nominee Yoon and the police leadership over the Police Bureau issue, shifted to a favorable stance, saying, "I trust nominee Yoon."

The allegations surrounding the past police entry process of Kim Soon-ho, the Police Bureau Chief, also emerged as a "hot potato." Kim was active in the Incheon-Bucheon Democratic Workers’ Association (Innohoe) in 1989 but suddenly disappeared and reappeared six months later as a "specially recruited" police officer for anti-communist duties, which has recently become controversial. Former members of Innohoe suspect that Kim informed on his colleagues and was specially recruited as a reward. Nominee Yoon said, "During the recommendation process for the Police Bureau Chief, we did not verify matters from 30 years ago," adding that he only recently learned of these allegations through media reports.

The controversy over Kim’s past is expected to continue for some time. A Ministry of the Interior and Safety briefing is scheduled for next week, and during the previous day’s hearing, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Gyo-heung, the opposition party’s secretary, requested the attendance of Kim Soon-ho from committee chairman Lee Chae-ik (People Power Party). For now, nominee Yoon responded to Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Hae-sik’s question about whether there were plans to cancel Kim’s dispatch by saying, "I will consult with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety."

Both ruling and opposition parties commonly urged nominee Yoon to strengthen the police’s investigative capabilities during the hearing. They requested that the police become a trusted institution by the public through proper investigations without being swayed by political pressure. Nominee Yoon took a principled stance, stating, "The police conduct investigations according to laws and procedures without any political considerations."

Nevertheless, the ruling and opposition parties clashed over police investigations. In particular, multiple cases involving Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Jae-myung were brought into the spotlight. People Power Party lawmaker Cho Eun-hee asked, "Regarding the investigation of lawmaker Lee Jae-myung, four deaths have occurred so far. Is the police conducting proper investigations?" On the other hand, Democratic Party lawmaker Moon Jin-seok claimed, "Regarding allegations of misuse of corporate cards by Lee’s spouse Kim Hye-kyung, the police have conducted 129 search and seizure operations, engaging in a fishing expedition."

Investigations related to lawmaker Lee are ongoing at the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency. The agency has unusually announced that it plans to conclude some of the related cases within this month. Initially, nominee Yoon seemed to be mindful of the three-tier system of national police, investigative police, and autonomous police, stating, "The Commissioner General does not command specific cases," but as the ruling and opposition parties’ disputes continued, he said, "As a nominee, I will support investigations being conducted according to laws and principles without political considerations."