President Lee: "Police Must Reform with Bone-Cutting Resolve and Overhaul Systems"

Regarding controversies such as the false closure of the Jeju missing person case, President Lee Jae-myung stated, "Using these series of incidents as a mirror, the police must undertake internal self-purification and institutional improvement with a bone-cutting resolve."

Presiding over an opening statement at a meeting of senior secretaries at the Cheong Wa Dae, President Lee remarked, "There must not be an inch of vulnerability in public safety, which is responsible for the safety of our citizens. However, recent successive incidents have revealed significant flaws in our public security."

President Lee emphasized, "We must comprehensively reexamine whether there are any flaws in existing practices and systems throughout the handling process of not just missing person cases, but all cases."

This is interpreted as remarks conscious of growing public concern over the police, triggered by the consecutive emergence of the so-called "Jang Yoon-ki incident" and the Jeju missing person cases.

President Lee ordered, "Stepping away from an insider's perspective, we must meticulously examine what was lacking and what needs to be supplemented from the public's eye level and the victims' standpoint. Just as voice phishing crimes decreased thanks to the efforts of the multinational crime task force (TF) in which the police participated, we must turn the current situation into a blessing in disguise for public safety."

He continued, "There is one month left until the launch of the Investigation Office for Serious Crimes (IOSC) and the Prosecution Service. The goal of all reforms lies in the substantial improvement of people's lives, namely livelihood reforms," urging redoubled efforts for reform intertwined with the reorganization of the criminal justice system.

He also instructed, "Furthermore, reform is completed within the lives of the people, not in the text of lawbooks. We must pool our efforts to establish a public security system so that not even the smallest vacuum occurs."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.