"We Will Cut Out the Rotten Parts": Police Unveil Reform Plan

[Anchor]

The government has issued a public apology regarding the Jang Yun-gi case and unveiled a police reform plan. To root out collusion between police and local communities, authorities have decided to expand the rotation system and introduce a policy that transfers cases involving police officers' families to different police stations.

Reporter Yun Nara has the story.

[Reporter]

In response to the botched police investigation that emerged during the case of the high school girl's murderer, Jang Yun-gi, Minister of the Interior and Safety Yun Ho-jung and the police leadership apologized to the public and promised reform.

[Yun Ho-jung / Minister of the Interior and Safety: We will boldly cut out the rotten parts and fix the system from the roots up so that no more innocent victims are left in tears.]

Measures to eradicate internal police corruption and strengthen democratic control were also announced.

First, to block collusion based on local ties, the police will expand the rotation system. They will also introduce a policy to transfer cases to other police stations if any party involved in the case is a family member of a police officer.

An internal corruption investigation unit will also be established directly under the National Office of Investigation.

Externally, the police promised to establish an investigation and human rights inspection body to create a system for monitoring and controlling police investigations.

[Yoo Jae-sung / Acting Commissioner General of the Korean National Police Agency: We plan to swiftly push forward with measures to eradicate internal corruption in police investigations and strengthen democratic control.]

Although the police announced a plan for swift implementation, they did not mention specific timelines for each measure.

The rotation and case-transfer policies could affect tens of thousands of police officers, and establishing an inspection body requires amending the Police Act. Given the intense standoff between the ruling and opposition parties, it is difficult to guarantee when such legal amendments might occur.

[Lee Woong-hyuk / Professor of Police Science at Konkuk University: Because there is significant distrust in judicial institutions and public sentiment is what it is, it is necessary to announce a schedule and proceed accordingly.]

In response, the Police Workplace Council stated that while they would cooperate with genuine reforms to restore public trust, they would firmly oppose any unilateral policies that use specific cases as an excuse to make the police a scapegoat.

(Video reporting: Jo Chun-dong, Video editing: Lee So-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.