KOR
▲ Former Seoul Seongdong Police Station Chief Kwon Mi-ye commuting in an emergency dispatch vehicle
A disciplinary decision has recently been reached regarding Kwon Mi-ye, the former head of the Seongdong Police Station, who was found to have privately used an emergency dispatch electric vehicle for commuting and other personal purposes.
According to SBS reporting, the Korean National Police Agency's Central Disciplinary Committee held a meeting last week and resolved on a disciplinary action for the former chief Kwon.
This comes about two months after Kwon's alleged misconduct was brought to light through an exclusive SBS report.
Disciplinary actions for police officers are classified into heavy disciplinary actions, which include dismissal, removal from office, demotion, and suspension, and light disciplinary actions, which mean a pay cut and reprimand.
However, the police maintain the stance that they cannot disclose the specific level of disciplinary action against former chief Kwon.
They state that they have no choice but to follow regulations such as the Police Officials Disciplinary Decree, which stipulates that "the contents of the disciplinary committee's resolution are not disclosed."
President Lee Jae-myung previously ordered a prompt and stern response upon learning of the allegations surrounding former chief Kwon, prompting the National Police Agency to launch a high-intensity inspection.
As a result, the National Police Agency announced on June 24 that it had confirmed misconduct involving the private use of an official vehicle, such as former chief Kwon using the emergency dispatch electric vehicle dozens of times for commuting purposes to evade the "Public Institution Vehicle Number-Plate Odd-Even System" implemented for pan-governmental energy conservation.
The inspection also confirmed that former chief Kwon's private use of the vehicle created a vacancy in the duties of the initial response team.
Consequently, the National Police Agency referred former chief Kwon to the Central Disciplinary Committee, yet it is unable to disclose the extent to which responsibility was held.
It was learned that the National Police Agency previously pursued a plan back in 2019 to disclose some summaries of police officer discipline for the public's right to know, but the plan fell through during inter-ministerial discussions.
Amid growing concerns over the expansion of police power ahead of massive adjustments to the criminal justice system, pointing out the need for institutional reorganization so that disciplinary conclusions against misconducting police officers can be made public.
It is reported that the Police Investigation Reform Committee, launched in the wake of suspicions regarding Jang Yoon-ki's investigative misconduct, plans to request internal materials related to discipline from the National Police Agency and embark on discussions for institutional improvement.
Former chief Kwon conveyed a stance in response to SBS inquiries, stating, "It is difficult to respond to the reporting as I have not yet received notification regarding the discipline."
The National Police Agency stated, "We will review various disciplinary system improvement measures to secure public trust."
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
Video News