[Exclusive] Seoul Police Agency and Yongsan Station Receive 'A Grade' in Performance Evaluation Despite 'Itaewon Disaster Poor Response'

Seoul Cheong Relocates, One Step Down Compared to Previous Year
No Change in Yongsan... No Impact from Disaster
Police Internal Talk of "Generous Evaluation"

Entrance of Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Jongno-gu [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Seongpil Jo and Byungseon Gong] It was confirmed on the 4th that the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and Yongsan Police Station, which are suspected of inadequate response to the Itaewon disaster, were both classified as A-grade, a top-tier rating, in last year's performance evaluation. Inside the police force, there are comments that this rating is lenient considering the Itaewon disaster.

According to the Police Agency on the 4th, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and Yongsan Police Station were recently selected as A-grade in the performance evaluation, which had been announced internally within the police. A-grade is the second highest rating after S-grade. It corresponds to about 40% of the 18 metropolitan and provincial police agencies and 258 police stations nationwide. Based on this information, the Police Agency plans to announce the results of the 2022 performance evaluation grades next week after going through an objection procedure by the end of this week. It is reported that changes due to objections are very rare.

The performance evaluation is conducted annually targeting metropolitan and provincial police agencies or police stations. The evaluation items include ▲ comprehensive public safety performance ▲ customer satisfaction ▲ human rights improvement evaluation. The ratings are classified into four levels from the highest S-grade to the lowest C-grade. Typically, since there are many quantitative evaluation factors, metropolitan and provincial police agencies and police stations located in areas with high public safety demand are said to have an advantage. On the other hand, the ratings are known to be closely linked to the calculation of performance bonuses and promotion quotas (TO) for affiliated officers, causing sensitive internal reactions even to a one-grade difference.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has consistently received the highest rating, 'S,' in past performance evaluations. The drop to A-grade this time is analyzed inside and outside the police as an effect of the Itaewon disaster. Seoul Police Commissioner Kim Kwang-ho was booked as a suspect on charges of professional negligence resulting in death and injury related to the Itaewon disaster, and former Public Safety Information Foreign Affairs Division Chief Park Seong-min (Police Commissioner) and former Personnel Education Director Ryu Mi-jin (Senior Superintendent), who were affiliated executives, have been prosecuted or are undergoing related procedures.

Opinions within the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency are divided. First, some say that receiving an A-grade despite the Itaewon disaster is a harsh evaluation. There are voices emphasizing that Seoul itself has the highest public safety demand nationwide, and the efforts of the officers were considerable. On the other hand, outside the Seoul Police Agency, the reaction is that receiving an A-grade alone is a commendable performance. In fact, the Incheon Police Agency, which suffered turmoil with the resignation of its commissioner due to the 2021 Incheon inter-floor noise incident, received a B-grade, showing a steep decline compared to the previous year.

Even though the workload related to assemblies and demonstrations increased significantly due to the presidential office relocation, Yongsan Police Station, which was directly hit by the disaster, is evaluated as receiving a rather lenient A-grade. Moreover, Yongsan Police Station also received an A-grade in the previous year. Judging only by the report card, it essentially means there was no impact from the Itaewon disaster. A police officer working at a frontline police station in the Gyeonggi area said, "It makes no sense that a police station whose chief was even detained due to inadequate disaster response maintained a top rating," adding, "It is hard to accept the evaluation results."

Meanwhile, Seocho Police Station, which has jurisdiction over Seocho-dong where President Yoon Seok-yeol resided before moving to the Hannam-dong official residence, was reportedly classified as A-grade in this performance evaluation. Last year, Seocho Police Station was responsible for security and traffic management while President Yoon commuted from his Seocho-dong residence. Previously, Seocho Police Station also received the highest S-grade in 2021 for the missing person case of the late Son Jeong-min.