🚨 Police Committee: Democratic Control and Political Neutrality of Police

Today Korean Social News | 2025.06.08

📌 Police Bureau to be Abolished…Police Committee Powers to be Strengthened

💬 After President Lee Jae-myung took office, changes are expected in the police organization. The abolition of the Police Bureau and strengthening of Police Committee powers are being pushed forward to secure political neutrality and democratic control of police. The Police Bureau was created within the Ministry of the Interior and Safety during the Yoon Suk-yeol government in 2022, but has been criticized for possibly harming police independence. Plans are being discussed to strengthen the Police Committee's authority to review and decide on police policies, personnel, and budget matters.

Summary

• The Police Committee is an independent review and decision-making body set up for democratic control of police.
• It reviews important matters like police policies, personnel, and budget to ensure political neutrality of police.
• Recently, strengthening Police Committee powers is being pushed along with abolishing the Police Bureau.

1️⃣ Definition

Police Committee means an independent review and decision-making body set up for democratic control of police. Simply put, it is an organization that acts as a "police watchdog" - monitoring whether police work properly for citizens and making important policy decisions.

This is an institutional system that helps police maintain professionalism and neutrality without political influence while being responsible for public safety and security.

💡 Why is it important?

• It ensures political neutrality of police and prevents them from being used as tools by specific political groups.
• It protects citizens' rights through democratic control of police policies and operations.
• It secures police professionalism and independence to provide effective security services.
• It increases transparency by reflecting various opinions from civil society in police operations.

2️⃣ Structure and Main Functions of Police Committee

📕 Structure and Operating System

• The Police Committee is made up of experts from various fields. Main structure includes:

  • Total of 9 members: 1 chairperson and 8 committee members.
  • The chairperson is appointed by the Minister of Interior and Safety. Among members, 1 is ex-officio (Vice Minister of Interior and Safety) and 7 are appointed members.
  • Appointed members include experts from legal, academic, civil society, and media fields.
  • Member terms are 2 years and can be renewed.
  • National Assembly members or local council members cannot be committee members to ensure political neutrality.

• The committee operates through regular and special meetings. Main operating methods include:

  • Regular meetings are held once a month, and special meetings can be called when needed.
  • Meetings start with majority attendance of total members and decisions are made with majority agreement of attending members.
  • Important matters may need agreement of 2/3 or more of total members.
  • Meetings are generally open to public but can be closed when necessary.
  • Meeting records are created and main contents are made public.

📕 Main Functions and Authority

• The Police Committee has wide review and decision-making authority. Main functions include:

  • Review and decision on basic direction of police policies and major policies
  • Consent authority for major personnel appointments like Police Commissioner and regional police chiefs
  • Review of police budget planning and execution
  • Review of police organizational changes and personnel management
  • Establishment of basic plans for police education and training
  • Handling citizen complaints and preparing police activity improvement plans

• It performs roles to secure police independence and professionalism. Main roles include:

  • Creating institutional systems to secure political neutrality of police
  • Strengthening transparency and accountability of police activities
  • Finding ways to improve public trust in police
  • Building systems to prevent police power abuse and protect human rights
  • Preparing police innovation plans according to changing security environment
  • Implementing community policing through strengthened cooperation with local communities

Main Issues of Police Committee

1. Lack of real authority: Has review and decision authority but limited actual enforcement or binding power
2. Political independence: Political considerations may interfere in member selection process
3. Securing expertise: Difficulty in securing members who fully understand the professionalism and complexity of police work
4. Responsibility: Responsibility for committee decisions may be unclear
5. Relationship with administration: Limits in securing true independence in relationship with Ministry of Interior and Safety

3️⃣ History and Recent Issues of Police Committee

✅ Background and Development Process

• The Police Committee started from the need for democratic control of police. Main background includes:

  • Based on past experiences where police were used as political tools during authoritarian governments, the need for democratic control was raised.
  • When the National Police Agency was transferred to the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs (now Ministry of Interior and Safety) in 2004, ways to secure police independence and professionalism were discussed.
  • The Police Committee was first established in 2006, building a democratic control system for police.
  • Through several institutional improvements since then, the committee's authority and functions have gradually strengthened.

• Various changes occurred during institutional development. Main changes include:

  • Initially focused on advisory functions, but review and decision authority gradually strengthened.
  • Participation from civil society and academia expanded in member composition.
  • Consent authority for police personnel was granted, strengthening personnel independence.
  • Procedures for collecting citizen opinions in police policy-making process were institutionalized.
  • Functions for evaluating police activities and preparing improvement plans were added.

✅ Recent Issues and Reform Discussions

• Discussions about abolishing the Police Bureau are active. Recent trends include:

  • The Yoon Suk-yeol government created the Police Bureau within the Ministry of Interior and Safety in 2022, but criticism was raised that it could harm police independence.
  • The Lee Jae-myung government is considering greatly strengthening Police Committee authority while pushing to abolish the Police Bureau.
  • Plans to strengthen independence by transferring the Police Committee directly under the Prime Minister's Office are also being discussed.
  • Expanding the Police Committee's role in appointing the Police Commissioner is being considered.

• Various discussions about strengthening authority are ongoing. Main discussion points include:

  • Strengthening the Police Committee's real review authority over police budget planning
  • Making prior review by Police Committee mandatory for major police policies
  • Expanding Police Committee involvement in police internal inspection systems
  • Strengthening the Police Committee's role in handling citizen complaints and police reform
  • Building connection systems and strengthening cooperation with local police committees
  • Installing dedicated administrative offices for Police Committee to strengthen practical capabilities

4️⃣ Related Terms Explanation

🔎 Political Neutrality of Police

• Political neutrality of police is the principle that police serve all citizens, not specific political groups.
• Political neutrality of police means police perform their duties fairly according to law and principles without political bias. This means police should not work for the interests of specific parties or politicians, but should be faithful to their original mission of maintaining public safety and order.
• Main contents of political neutrality include: First, prohibition of political activities - police officers cannot join political parties or express political opinions. Second, fair law enforcement - they must treat all citizens equally regardless of political views. Third, election neutrality duty - they cannot support or oppose specific candidates or parties during elections.
• Political neutrality of police is a basic principle of democracy, and independent control organizations like the Police Committee are needed for this. Based on past experiences where police were misused as political tools under authoritarian governments, neutrality is now guaranteed through institutional systems.

🔎 Democratic Control

• Democratic control is an institutional system that ensures power organizations operate according to citizens' will.
• Democratic control means a system that monitors and checks whether state organizations or public institutions operate in line with citizens' will and interests. It is an institutional mechanism that ensures power organizations like police do not exercise authority arbitrarily but serve citizens.
• Main elements of democratic control include: First, transparency - institutional policies and activities must be disclosed. Second, accountability - they must take responsibility for wrong decisions or actions. Third, participation - civil society must be able to participate in policy decision processes. Fourth, checks - monitoring and checks by external organizations must occur.
• Democratic control of police occurs through Police Committee, parliamentary inspection, civil society monitoring, media reporting, etc. Through this, police can fulfill their role as public servants and prevent power abuse. Especially, the Police Committee plays an important role as a regular and professional control organization.

🔎 Police Bureau

• Police Bureau is a police affairs department established within the Ministry of Interior and Safety.
• Police Bureau refers to an organization created within the Ministry of Interior and Safety by the Yoon Suk-yeol government in 2022, responsible for police-related policy establishment and coordination. Previously, police affairs were scattered across several departments, but this was created to integrate them and increase efficiency.
• Main functions of Police Bureau include: First, planning and coordinating police policies. Second, overall management of police budget planning and management. Third, establishing basic plans for police organization and personnel. Fourth, handling police-related law revision and institutional improvement.
• However, there was much controversy about establishing the Police Bureau. Concerns were raised that it could harm police independence and professionalism, and criticism existed that police political neutrality could be damaged by being under direct control of the administration. Therefore, the Lee Jae-myung government is pushing to abolish the Police Bureau while strengthening Police Committee authority.

5️⃣ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Can the Police Committee actually control police?

A: It is true that there are still limits to the Police Committee's actual control power. Currently, the Police Committee has review and decision authority, but direct enforcement or binding power is limited. For example, if the Police Committee expresses opposition to a specific policy but the National Police Agency ignores it, there are insufficient means to force compliance. Also, it is difficult to intervene in daily police work or specific investigation activities. However, it can exercise considerable indirect influence through consent authority for major police personnel, budget review authority, and policy review authority. Especially if recently discussed authority strengthening plans are realized, the Police Committee's actual control power is expected to improve greatly. The important point is that for the Police Committee to function as a real control organization rather than a formal one, committee members' expertise and independence, and continuous interest and monitoring from civil society are needed.

Q: How are Police Committee members selected?

A: Police Committee member selection goes through several steps to ensure transparency and expertise. First, the chairperson is appointed by the Minister of Interior and Safety, generally selecting senior figures from legal or academic fields. Seven appointed members are selected from candidates recommended from various fields. Specifically, they are generally composed of about 2 from legal field, 2 from academia, 2 from civil society, and 1 from media. Member candidates must have more than 10 years of experience and expertise in their field, and party-related persons or those with political bias are excluded to ensure political neutrality. In the selection process, candidates are found through public recruitment or related organization recommendations, and final members are decided through interviews or written examinations. However, it is difficult to completely exclude political considerations in the actual selection process, and plans to increase transparency of recommendation procedures and expand civil society participation are continuously being discussed to improve this.