Police Committee Files Jurisdictional Dispute Appeal Over 'Establishment of Police Bureau Rules'... "There Are Procedural Issues"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The National Police Commission (NPC) has filed a constitutional complaint with the Constitutional Court, claiming procedural issues in the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's (MOIS) establishment of the Police Bureau.

According to police sources on the 4th, the NPC filed a jurisdictional dispute trial with the Constitutional Court on the 30th of last month against Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, arguing procedural problems in the process of enacting the police command regulations and requesting the invalidation of the regulations. A jurisdictional dispute trial refers to a judgment by the Constitutional Court to resolve disputes over authority or scope between state agencies or local governments through constitutional interpretation.

According to Article 10, Paragraph 1 of the Police Agency Act, major policies related to police affairs must be deliberated and resolved by the NPC. The NPC claims that the MOIS did not follow this procedure when establishing the Police Bureau and enacted the regulations without going through the proper process. Furthermore, it is also reported that the NPC argues the regulations are invalid because the Minister of the Interior and Safety does not oversee 'public security' affairs under the Government Organization Act and the Police Act and therefore cannot command the police, yet the police command regulations stipulate that the Minister commands the police.

On July 20, the NPC submitted a review opinion on the legislative notice of the police command regulations, stating, "Since the Minister of the Interior and Safety does not oversee public security affairs, it is not appropriate to stipulate matters related to the command and supervision of the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency in the duties of the Director of the Police Bureau and the General Support Division Chief of the Police Bureau."

However, the NPC's jurisdictional dispute trial may be dismissed. Since only state agencies or local governments can file a jurisdictional dispute trial, the NPC, as an advisory committee under the MOIS, must await the Constitutional Court's judgment on whether it has the standing to seek the trial.