Police in Quagmire

NPA Chief Faces Growing Calls to Step Down

It is no longer news that the National Policy Agency (NPA) has been blamed for incompetence, corruption, brutal crackdowns on demonstrators and human rights violations. A series of recent incidents are further tarnishing the image of the police whose job is to keep law and order. NPA Commissioner General Eo Cheong-soo is faced with mounting calls to resign over inappropriate activities and lack of leadership.

First, the police are being slammed for belatedly requesting an overseas travel ban on a former presidential official who was allegedly involved in a corruption scandal. On Aug. 21, investigators made a phone call to Hong Kyung-tae, ex-public administration staff at Cheong Wa Dae under then-President Roh Moo-hyun, to summon him for questioning over the bribery case.

Hong and Jeong Sang-moon, a former senior secretary to Roh, face allegations that they abused their power to help several contractors win lucrative deals for construction work on state-run highways in 2005 and 2006. Three days after the call, Hong left the country for Malaysia. The police should have imposed a travel ban on him first. The NPA was lambasted for letting Hong flee the country.

Second, the police went too far in cracking down on a renowned leftist scholar and his group. On Aug. 26, they detained Oh Se-cheol, emeritus socio-psychology professor at Yonsei University, and six members of the Socialist Workers League of Korea on charges of violating the National Security Law. But a Seoul court turned down the police request for arrest warrants for the suspects, citing a lack of evidence to prove their alleged subversive activities.

The case shows the police are trying to revive the specter of a witch-hunt for those espousing socialist or leftist ideas. The NPA is apparently attempting to suppress progressive and left-leaning intellectuals and their groups amid a rising conservative trend following the inauguration of President Lee. It is hard to see Oh's socialist league as an ``enemy" organization because it adopts a platform opposing the dictatorial North Korean regime.

Third, the NPA has been criticized for its violent crackdowns on candlelight protestors against a beef import deal with the United States. Riot police have been accused of using excessive force during the demonstrations. London-based Amnesty International dispatched an investigator to South Korea and concluded that the police had infringed on the human rights of the demonstrators. It is regretful that the actions of the police have drawn international condemnation for the country.

Fourth, NPA chief Eo received a backlash from Buddhists over his promotion of a Christian event for police, adding fuel to President Lee's alleged religious bias. Buddhist monks and followers are stepping up protests against what they describe as religious discrimination by the Christian President. Their anger deepened in late July when police searched a car of the Ven. Jigwan, chief executive of the nation's biggest Buddhist order Jogye. They are now calling for Eo's resignation.

It's imperative for the Lee administration to take bold measures to address the police problem. The mission of the police is to protect the lives and assets of citizens by maintaining law and order. The government should no longer delay police reform to ensure the rule of law, the very foundation of a democracy.