Police Under Greater Scrutiny
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency plans to check the phone records of officers and track their bank accounts to eliminate corruption.
Under the new plan, if an officer is found to have talked to the owner of entertainment spots ahead of raids, they can be sacked and those who have a large sum of money in their bank accounts will be questioned.
These measures are aimed at rooting out police corruption. Despite a nationwide effort, the police believe that there are still officers who are paid in return for tips ahead of raids or for going easy on suspects.
Recently, police had a major public relations disaster when two police officers were involved in smuggling gold bullion at Incheon International Airport.
According to guidelines that came into effect from February, all policemen must refrain from sharing any correspondence with operators of illegal brothels, gambling places or other "merry-making" venues, which are closely connected with organized criminal rings.
Any phone calls, exchange of email, dining with them or other "suspicious" activities will be monitored and those involved will face stiff punishment, if they are found to have engaged in wrongdoing.
The officers on the assignment are required to obtain permission from their superiors and notify them of their progress.
The police will track down bank accounts and phone usage records of brothel owners that are under police watch. The officers who violate the rules will be suspended from their duties or dismissed. Those who face dismissal will not receive any severance pay.
The police, however, decided to give a month-long grace period for officers to come clean on their "illegal activities."
According to some reports, the police are trying to have all 34,000 police officers sign written pledges to allow full access to their bank accounts and phone records.
But SMPA spokesman Lee Sung-jae denied the report. "We will seek pertinent warrants, if necessary, on individual cases," he told The Korea Times.
Before Lee's official clarification, criticism had been mounting on the plan to force the officers to disclose their bank accounts and phone records on the grounds of privacy violation.
Police efforts to clean up the force followed reports that President Lee Myung-bak was upset by a string of revelations about corruption last month.
Last year, policemen were caught for leaking crackdown information in return for kickbacks, while some were caught buying sex.
However, they got away with light punishments, police watchers say.
"The no-phone-call policy will help cut ties between the police and shady businesses," Lee said.