[2023 National Audit] Stabbing Rampage and Nighttime Rallies... Fierce Debate Expected at National Police Agency Audit

Public Administration Committee to Hold National Audit of Police Agency on 12th
Key Issues Including Crime by Abnormal Motives and Assembly and Demonstration Act Amendments

At the National Assembly audit of the National Police Agency scheduled for the 12th, fierce clashes between the ruling and opposition parties are expected over issues such as responses to crimes with unusual motives including knife attacks, and the revision of the Assembly and Demonstration Act (Jipsibeop) that prohibits assemblies during nighttime hours.

The National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee will conduct a national audit of the National Police Agency at 10 a.m. at the Police Agency headquarters in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. This audit is expected to focus on current issues such as the police response to crimes with unusual motives causing social unrest this year, including the knife attacks at Sillim Station and Bundang, the proposed revision of the Assembly and Demonstration Act (Jipsibeop), drug-related offenses, and organizational restructuring.

The proposed revision of the Jipsibeop announced by the National Police Agency on the 21st of last month has emerged as a key issue. The revision aims to completely ban assemblies and demonstrations from midnight to 6 a.m. The current Jipsibeop states that "no one shall hold outdoor assemblies or demonstrations before sunrise or after sunset; however, if the nature of the assembly makes it unavoidable, and the organizer appoints order maintenance personnel and files a prior report, the chief of the competent police station may allow outdoor assemblies before sunrise or after sunset with conditions for maintaining order." The National Police Agency intends to specify this provision through the proposed revision.

In 2009, the Constitutional Court ruled this broad regulation unconstitutional. Since then, legislation to specify prohibited demonstration hours has been pursued but has not resulted in legal amendments. The government and ruling party argue that there is currently a legal vacuum regarding nighttime assemblies. On the other hand, the opposition party opposes the revision of the Jipsibeop, claiming it effectively bans nighttime assemblies and demonstrations altogether and attempts to operate the current notification system for assemblies and demonstrations as a "permit system."

The police response to recent successive knife attack incidents and other crimes with unusual motives is also a subject of debate. Earlier, to prevent crimes with unusual motives such as the knife attacks at Sillim Station and Seohyeon Station, the police declared special security operations on August 4. At one point, police officers were armed with rifles and even deployed armored vehicles for powerful patrols. There have been ongoing calls for fundamental improvements in personnel structure to effectively manage field personnel. Criticism may also arise regarding National Police Agency Commissioner Yoon Hee-geun's remarks about reviving the auxiliary police.

Differences in evaluation between the ruling and opposition parties are also expected regarding the organizational restructuring plan announced by the National Police Agency. The plan centers on reallocating about 2,900 personnel secured through department mergers and reductions in internal administrative staff to mobile patrol units, and converting about 1,300 personnel from metropolitan and provincial police agencies and some police station violent crime units into regional criminal mobile units. However, there is criticism from the field that a simple organizational restructuring without absolute personnel increases could lead to increased workload burdens.