Violation of Political Neutrality under the Duty to Maintain Dignity
"Personal Expression" vs. "Justified Disciplinary Action"?Divided Opinions
An active police officer has been disciplined for posting a comment saying "Eradicate Communism" on a post supporting former President Yoon Sukyeol.
On September 7, Yonhap News reported that the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency held a regular police disciplinary committee meeting on September 2 and decided to suspend Inspector A, who is affiliated with the Anyang Dongan Police Station.
On July 18 and 21, Inspector A left comments reading "SPalWan Eradicate Communism" on posts certifying participation in rallies supporting former President Yoon on social networking services (SNS). "SPalWan" is an abbreviation for "Thread Follow Completed," and the comments were interpreted as reflecting his personal opinion.
Subsequently, the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency conducted an internal audit and confirmed that Inspector A had violated the duty to maintain dignity, leading to the disciplinary decision. The agency determined that he had breached the duty of political neutrality, which constitutes a serious violation and warrants suspension. This was classified as a violation of political neutrality under the "other" category of the duty to maintain dignity stipulated by the National Public Service Act. The police appear to have regarded this act as a deliberate and serious breach of duty, resulting in the suspension.
However, some have voiced concerns that the disciplinary action may suppress freedom of expression, arguing that Inspector A's comments were part of his personal SNS activity. Kim Jungbaek, a professor at Kyung Hee University, pointed out, "It is wrong for the police to discipline someone for expressing a personal opinion."
On the other hand, there are also opinions that violations of the duty of political neutrality by public officials must be dealt with strictly. In particular, some argue that such violations should be considered even more problematic in situations where charges of insurrection have been raised.
Lee Byunghoon, a professor at Chung-Ang University, acknowledged the legitimacy of the disciplinary action, stating, "Given the special political circumstances, violations of the duty of political neutrality by public officials must be treated even more seriously."
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