[Column] The Yoon Hee-geun Administration Tarnished by Personnel Issues

Seodaemun-gu Police Agency, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

The National Police Agency appointed an official who had been caught twice for drunk driving as the head of the traffic division at a provincial police agency, but retracted the appointment after just five days. On the 11th, there was a personnel transfer involving 293 senior superintendents, including the problematic superintendent. Immediately, criticism erupted both inside and outside the police force, questioning, "Does it make sense to appoint someone with a history of drunk driving as the head of the department responsible for enforcement?" The leadership eventually issued a corrected personnel announcement on the 16th, effectively admitting there were issues with the personnel screening process.

It is also unusual that the head of the Seoul police station was replaced in less than a year. The Seocho station chief, responsible for the presidential residence of President Yoon Seok-yeol, and the Yeongdeungpo station chief, overseeing the National Assembly area, were both reassigned after just over seven months. Normally, without any incidents, it is customary to serve at least one year. Such personnel changes have not occurred in recent years.

Another point of controversy is that most heads of major investigative units under the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency have been replaced. The head of the Anti-Corruption and Public Crime Investigation Unit had served for over a year, so this was generally accepted. However, the heads of the Financial Crime Investigation Unit and the Violent Crime Investigation Unit had only been in their positions for seven months. Kim Kwang-ho, chief of the Seoul Police Agency, explained at a press briefing the day before that the changes were due to "personal requests and the aim to strengthen investigative awareness." Few found this explanation convincing. There are rumors that the dismissals were effectively political decisions.

Having already faced difficulties over the appointment of the Police Bureau chief, rumors have become even more rampant. Just days after sending Police Bureau Chief Kim Soon-ho on secondment to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, allegations surfaced accusing him of betraying former comrades and climbing the ranks in the police through such acts. Police Chief Yoon Hee-geun stated at the confirmation hearing, "I was unaware." When asked on the day of his inauguration whether there were plans to cancel the secondment, he replied, "That is a matter for the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to handle." This can be interpreted as him not knowing the facts in the past and not being involved in the future.

Personnel decisions can either make or break an organization. This is an eternal truth applicable to any organization. It is even more so for the police, which uphold law and order. It has been a week since the Yoon Hee-geun administration set sail. The police bureau issue had already caused turmoil before his inauguration. These days, one cannot help but nod in agreement with internal police voices saying, "Since there will be criticism no matter what, at least please make appointments that do not cause any noise."