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Police officer quits over investigation adjustment plan
By Lee Hyo-sik
A mid-ranking police officer in Seoul has quit in protest of a government-led plan to put police criminal investigations under tighter supervision of the prosecution.
The Seongbuk Police Station in northern Seoul said Wednesday that Chief Superintendent Park Dong-ju, who heads its criminal investigation division, offered to resign a day earlier, becoming the first officer to quit in protest of the government’s move to realign the criminal investigation system.
Park said it is humiliating for the police to be placed under the prosecution’s command in all criminal investigations, stressing he decided to quit to express a collective anger among police officers.
``I have lived as a detective for the past 15 years since graduating from the National Police University. But I have never been this disappointed. Forcing police officers to be supervised by prosecutors at all times is tantamount to outright belittling,’’ the superintendent said.
He then said police officers are extremely angry at the police leadership and the prosecution, stressing that if police investigations are supervised by prosecutors all the time, it is impossible to conduct criminal probes in an effective and fair manner. ``Police officers should be able to open and proceed with independent probes.’’
Park’s resignation comes amid escalating conflicts between the police and the prosecution over how the police should conduct criminal investigations.
Last month, the Prime Minister’s Office announced the plan after gathering separate proposals from the two sides to update the presidential decree on investigation rights. The government plans to approve the revision by the end of next month so that the new rules will take effect beginning Jan. 1.
Prosecutors accepted the office’s mediation scheme. But the police strongly opposed it, claiming it will reduce their independence. Police officers said the plan only reflected opinions from the prosecution.
In protest, a group of police officers returned handcuffs and gave up positions at investigative bureaus. They also held a series of internal meetings to discuss ways to derail the government proposal and voice police officers’ views on investigation rights.
Representatives from the prosecution and the police recently held an open debate on the issue but failed to narrow their differences.