Mayor Oh: "Abnormal System Must Be Improved Quickly"
Autonomous Police, Dual Organization Fails, Local Government Authority ↓
Government Promotes Dual System... Pilot Implementation Recommendation Pending
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has once again raised the issue of 'abolishing' the autonomous police system, which has been in place for three years since its launch. It is pointed out that, contrary to the purpose of the system, local governments do not have proper authority such as police personnel rights. The government is promoting the dualization of autonomous police to realize the system's intent, but no concrete plans have yet been announced.
According to Seoul City on the 23rd, Mayor Oh Se-hoon said in response to questions about the autonomous police system during a city council inquiry the previous day, "The distorted autonomous police system must be improved as soon as possible," adding, "We must decide between completely separating the national police and local police through dualization or restoring the original state and abolishing the autonomous police system that operates in name only."
The autonomous police system was introduced in 2021 during the Moon Jae-in administration with the aim of preventing the overexpansion of the police organization and allowing local governments to take charge of regional public safety duties. However, contrary to its original purpose, it has been pointed out that the system is not being properly operated on the ground. According to the initial plan, police boxes and precincts mainly responsible for public safety were to be transferred to the autonomous police, but due to concerns about operational confusion, they remained under the national police affiliated with the 112 situation room. The autonomous police are not separated as an independent organization; rather, the autonomous police committees under the city/province only supervise and direct the city/province police chiefs regarding autonomous police affairs.
Although called 'autonomous police,' it is argued that local governments have little actual authority. Mayor Oh said, "It is very hypocritical to claim to operate the autonomous police system without organizational, personnel, or command rights as it is now." From the early days of the autonomous police system's implementation to the Itaewon tragedy, Mayor Oh has continuously raised issues with the system, emphasizing that local government heads do not have real personnel authority over autonomous police committee members or junior police officers.
To resolve this situation, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration has also made 'dualization of autonomous police' a national agenda. The plan is to clearly separate the national police, responsible for investigations and intelligence, from the autonomous police, responsible for regional public safety, to ensure the effectiveness of the autonomous police system.
However, no concrete implementation plan for the dualization has been prepared. In 2022, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced plans to pilot the dualization of autonomous police for two years starting this year in Sejong, Jeju, and Gangwon, but it has not yet begun. The Police System Development Committee (Gyeongbalwi) under the Prime Minister's Office must issue a 'recommendation' for local governments to conduct pilot operations, but this recommendation has not been released. A Ministry of the Interior and Safety official explained, "It is still under discussion at Gyeongbalwi," adding, "It is difficult to confirm whether it can be implemented this year." It is known that Gyeongbalwi is collecting opinions from stakeholders through field visits.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
