Backlash Over Expanded Police Rotation System: "We Are Not Criminals"

[Anchor]

With the revision of the Criminal Procedure Act aimed at abolishing the prosecution's investigative powers now complete, attention is turning to the police. As police powers are strengthened, various measures to keep them in check are emerging, and internal backlash is intensifying particularly over the expansion of the "police officer rotation system" designed to prevent regional collusion.

Reporter An Huijae has the story.

[Reporter]

[Absolute opposition to the rotation system! (Absolute opposition, absolute opposition!)]

A group head-shaving protest was held in front of the National Police Agency yesterday afternoon (August 10).

The 10 individuals shaving their heads with resolute expressions are not civil petitioners, but active-duty police officers.

Under current regulations, senior superintendents and above—equivalent to frontline police station chiefs—must relocate after three years.

The regional rotation system is also currently enforced for senior inspectors, who are equivalent to division heads at police stations. When it was announced that this would be expanded to lower-level working-level personnel, officers strongly pushed back.

The government's stance is to address the issue of officers staying in one region for too long, triggered by controversies such as investigation irregularities involving Jang Yoon-ki and various allegations surrounding the so-called "Geoje King."

[Yoon Ho-jung / Minister of the Interior and Safety (July 16): To root out the problem of police officers' collusion with local ties, we will fully introduce the rotation system...]

However, frontline police officers argued that applying this by force even to working-level staff without command authority, based on a few cases of deviance, is a "punishment akin to familial collective guilt."

[Min Kwan-ki / Chairperson of the National Police Workplace Council: We are not potential criminals! (No, we are not, we are not!)]

Within the police force, criticisms are emerging such as, "Weren't we recruited by region in the first place?" and "This completely shakes the foundation of our daily lives, including children's education, yet they are trying to pass the burden onto individuals without providing housing support such as official residences."

Frontline police officers pointed out to SBS that "the government is only coming up with band-aid solutions under public criticism."

The police leadership is now put to the test to see if they can persuade members of the organization while presenting viable alternatives capable of restoring public trust.

(Photo courtesy of Yonhap News)
(Reported by Yang Ji-hun | Video by So Ji-hye | VJ: Kim Hyung-jin | Design: Cho Soo-in)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.