DPK Launches Police Reform Task Force to Eradicate "Six Major Vices" Including Cover-ups

▲ Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok speaks on the necessity of police reform following the adjustment of investigative powers during the 1st meeting of the Police Reform Task Force held at the National Assembly on September 1.

The Democratic Party has launched its party-affiliated Police Reform Task Force, embarking on the formulation of high-intensity reform measures to root out deep-seated police abuses exposed by incidents such as the Jang Yoon-ki case and the false closure of a missing person case in Jeju.

As the police are set to handle the majority of general cases starting in October following prosecution reforms spearheaded by the Democratic Party, the party has taken full-scale action amid growing public distrust toward the police.

The Democratic Party's Police Reform Task Force held its inaugural meeting today at the National Assembly, with party leader Kim Min-seok in attendance.

In his opening remarks, leader Kim stated, "During my time as Prime Minister, I urged early on that a reform plan be drawn up for the police, but a satisfactory plan failed to emerge. I hope this task force will undoubtedly produce results that satisfy the public."

Kim went on to present six major vices, which include "protecting one's own," "burying cases," "unauthorized closure of cases," "concealment and fabrication of evidence," "leaking investigative information," and "invasion of privacy." He emphasized, "To eradicate these, various measures must be devised, such as expanding external audits, strengthening grounds for the exclusion of investigators, enhancing accountability to victims, strengthening legal responsibility for shoddy investigations, and reinforcing the protection of personal information and privacy."

He added, "We must prepare institutional improvement measures that the public can accept from their perspective," and requested, "I hope you will formulate a thorough police reform plan from the standpoint that there can never be too much precaution regarding public worry, anxiety, and the prevention of violent crime."

Representative Lee Hae-shik, who serves as the co-head of the task force, stated, "As prosecution reform draws to a close, police reform is an inevitable and indispensable task of the times. We will also discuss democratic control over the police, such as materializing the National Police Commission; the decentralization of police power and reinforcement of public livelihood security through the implementation of the autonomous police system; the quantitative and qualitative reinforcement of the National Investigation Headquarters' investigative capabilities; and the independence of audit and inspection bodies."

Co-head Kim Nam-hee also stated, "As the governing party, the Democratic Party has the responsibility to solve the problems experienced by the public. We will establish a system where the party and the government communicate and cooperate together to find and promote practical solutions that work on the ground."

The task force decided to establish a consultative body between the party and the government for close communication with the police investigation reform committee and the police reform body to be launched by the government.

(Photo: Yonhap News)

※