PM orders crafting of comprehensive police reform measures
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok speaks during a meeting at the Government Complex Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok ordered the interior ministry and the police agency Tuesday to craft a comprehensive plan to reform the police in tandem with the prosecution.
Kim gave the order as President Lee Jae Myung's administration has been pushing to overhaul the prosecution with a focus on separating its investigative and indictment powers.
The directive called for "swiftly coming up with a comprehensive police reform proposal that can dramatically enhance the police's investigative capabilities and more thoroughly protect the people's livelihoods and safety," his office said in a press release.
Moreover, Kim instructed the National Police Agency to brief him on the facts behind news reports that front-line officers were not provided proper lodging and slept on cardboard boxes during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, some 275 kilometers southeast of Seoul, at the end of October.
He offered his "sincere consolation" over the inconveniences while thanking all officers who completed their duties under difficult circumstances.
Kim also instructed the police agency to come up with response measures.