DPK raps presidential security service for seeking to take command of dispatched military, police

President Yoon Suk-yeol's car being escorted by presidential security service vehicles, Nov. 8. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) on Thursday slammed the Presidential Security Service (PSS) for pushing to revise an enforcement decree that will allow it to command military and police officers dispatched for the protection of the president.

Last week, the PSS put up a pre-legislation notice about the enforcement decree revision, saying it is aimed at minimizing security loopholes and improving the security system by legally clarifying the PSS chief's command authority over military and police officials dispatched to protect the president.

The DPK, however, has criticized the move, saying it is an "unprecedented attempt" and "unconstitutional" in Korea's history.

"The Yoon Suk-yeol administration is turning backwards the clock of Korea's democracy to 50 years ago," Rep. Lee Soo-jin, the DPK spokesperson, said.

DPK Rep. Jeon Yong-gi also said the PSS is coveting the authority of the military and the police, a line that even the previous military regimes of former Presidents Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan did not cross.

According to Jeon, the defense ministry and the National Police Agency also expressed concerns over the envisioned revision.

The defense ministry recommended limiting the authority of the PSS head over dispatched military officers for "field operation" as the PSS does not have command power over the military, while the police said the revision raises the possibility of the PSS exercising excessive authority over police, according to Jeon.

The DPK's top policymaker Kim Sung-hwan also pointed out that the relocation of the presidential office increased the workload of the PSS, causing problems, and called on Yoon to move back into the former presidential compound of Cheong Wa Dae.

Yoon relocated the presidential office from Cheong Wa Dae to the former defense ministry building in Yongsan after he took office in May in line with his election pledge. (Yonhap)