Minju Recruits Ryu Sam-yeong, Who Led the Police Chiefs' Meeting Opposing the Police Bureau

'Climate' Park Ji-hye, 'Economy' Lee Jae-sung Follow Police Background
Ryu Sam-young "Urgent Need to Check Yoon Administration Amid Democratic Backsliding"

The Democratic Party of Korea has recruited former Senior Superintendent Ryu Sam-yeong as the third talent for next year's general election. Former Senior Superintendent Ryu left the police force after facing disciplinary actions and demotion following his leadership in collective opposition to the establishment of the Police Bureau under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety by the Yoon Seok-yeol administration last year.

The Democratic Party’s Talent Committee, chaired by leader Lee Jae-myung, held a talent recruitment ceremony at the National Assembly on the morning of the 18th and announced the recruitment of former Senior Superintendent Ryu. In a pre-distributed statement, Ryu explained the background of his political entry, saying, "It is urgent to check the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, which has rolled back the clock of police history by 30 years, undermined the political neutrality of the police, abused investigative authority, and caused a regression of democracy."

Ryu Sam-young, former Senior Superintendent [Photo by Yonhap News]

He said, "The Democratic Party has been striving for reform of investigative agencies, including limiting the excessive powers of the prosecution and adjusting investigative authority between the prosecution and police. Now, I want to work together with the Democratic Party so that the police can faithfully perform their original role of protecting the lives of the people and public order," and added, "As an expert in judicial studies, I will leverage my experience to reform the criminal law system to meet the expectations of the people."

The Democratic Party’s Talent Committee introduced former Senior Superintendent Ryu as "an expert in investigation and criminal fields, recognized as a leading 'investigation specialist' within the organization. During his tenure as head of the Violent Crime Division and the Metropolitan Investigation Unit, he eradicated organized crime groups in the Busan area such as the 'Chilseongpa.' He also investigated and led cases classified among the top ten incidents in police history, including the 'Busan Sinchang-dong live ammunition shooting range fire incident' and the 'Busan Sasang District middle school girl rape and murder case.'"

Born in Busan, former Senior Superintendent Ryu graduated from the 4th class of the Korean National Police University and served for 35 years in various positions including head of the Busan Metropolitan Investigation Unit, Anti-Corruption Investigation Unit, and police chief of Busan Yeonje, Busan Yeongdo, and Ulsan Jungbu police stations. In July last year, he was suspended for three months after leading a nationwide police chiefs’ meeting opposing the establishment of the Police Bureau under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. Subsequently, in the regular personnel reshuffle in July this year, he was demoted to the position of Situation Team Leader at the 112 Security Comprehensive Situation Room of the Gyeongnam Police Agency, a superintendent-level post, after which he submitted his resignation.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party previously recruited climate crisis expert lawyer Park Ji-hye as the first talent for the general election and Lee Jae-sung, a former executive of NCSoft, as the second talent.