【Text/Observer Network Lin Lingjin】
With soaring prices, a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases, runaway housing prices, and a record low support rate, South Korean President Yoon Seok-wook, who is under multiple pressures, has recently been confronted by the backbone of the police for trying to restrain the police.
South Korea's Ministry of Administration and Security (GSD) announced on July 15 that it will establish a new police department in the ministry on August 2, the "Police Department", which can handle personnel, supervision, disciplinary and other matters. The move, seen as a move to tighten controls on the police, was strongly opposed by the South Korean police. On July 23, 189 of South Korea's more than 650 national police chiefs (the "Chief Police," equivalent to the head of the mainland's public security sub-bureau), protested at a meeting in Asan City, Chungcheongnam Province, according to the Hank-minh Ilbo.
On July 25, South Korea's minister of security, Lee Sang-min, likened the police protest to the "Double Twelve Coup" by Yonhap News Agency
On July 25, Yoon Seok-wook's confidant, South Korea's Minister of Security Lee Sang-min, in response to the police meeting, compared the event to the 1979 "12/12 military coup" that brought Chun Doo-hwan to power. Li Xiangmin's remarks stirred up thousands of waves.
On the 24th, Inspector Kim Sung-jong of the Gwangjin Police Department in Seoul proposed that the protests be expanded from senior police to "140,000" police officers in South Korea, and a meeting was held on the 30th. But on the 27th, Kim Sung-jong announced that the "140,000" police protest meeting had been "voluntarily" canceled.
South Korea's Ministry of Travel and Safety will set up a new "police station" next month to tighten control over the police
According to Yonhap News Agency, on July 15, South Korea's minister of security, Lee Sang-min, announced at a press conference that the Ministry of Security will set up a new department responsible for policing, the "Police Department", which will be formally established on August 2.
This will be the resurrection of the ministry of agriculture and security under the ministry of police after 31 years. The "Public Security Headquarters" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the predecessor of the Ministry of Safety and Security, became the Independent Police Agency in 1991.
The newly established "Police Department" of the Ministry of Safety and Security will have three sections, consisting of 16 people, including the Director-General, whose functions include submitting policies and laws to the Council of State for policing, proposing the use of police civil servants at the level of "Chief Police" or above, and making proposals to the National Police Commission.
Li Xiangmin said at a press conference on the 15th that the "police station" is not a department that conducts command and supervision of the police department that is also subordinate to the Ministry of Safety and Security, and will only exercise the authority prescribed by law. Due to organizational problems, the "police station" is subordinate to the deputy officer (deputy minister) of the Ministry of Safety and Security, but in fact it will be under the direct jurisdiction of the minister, and the deputy officer will not intervene in personnel arrangements and other work.
In addition, Li Xiangmin also said that the rules of command of the Minister of Safety and Security to the leaders of subordinate police and fire agencies (director of the Police Department and Director of the Fire Department) will be formulated. The specific rules will include the approval of major decisions of subordinate agencies, reports and budget arrangements and other important matters, but will not involve investigative work.
The Police Department (infographic) in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, from Yonhap News Agency
According to the news of the State Office of the Republic of Korea on July 26, at the 33rd State Council of south Korea held on the same day, the "Partial Amendment Order (Case) of the Rules for the Implementation of the System of the Ministry of Administrative Security and Its Subordinate Agencies" aimed at establishing the "Police Department" of the Ministry of Agriculture and Security was passed and will be officially promulgated and implemented on the 2nd of next month.
Yonhap News Agency reported that if the "police station" is successfully established, the authority of the Ministry of Travel and Safety over the police organization will increase, and it can be in charge of personnel, supervision, punishment and other affairs, so the relevant trends have attracted the attention of the National Police Agency and other parties.
Nearly 200 south Korean police stalwarts, who participated in protest meetings, were twice ordered to disband
In order to protest the south Korean government's new establishment of a new agency to strengthen supervision of the police, from 2 p.m. on the 23rd, 56 of the more than 650 police commissioners (chief police officers) of South Korea attended the meeting held by the Asan City Police Talent Development Institute in Chungcheongnam Province, and there were 133 online participants. In addition, although the Korean General Police did not attend the meeting, but agreed with the purpose of the meeting, they sent hibiscus flower pots with their names to the venue. This means that, including them, more than half (357) of the chief police officers are involved in collective action.
On the afternoon of July 23, a flower basket was placed in front of the venue of the Asan Police Talent Development Institute. Image source: Yonhap News Agency
At about 4 p.m. in the middle of the meeting, Yoon Hee-geun, a candidate for the chief of the South Korean Police Agency, suddenly issued a "dissolution instruction order" to the participants, and at about 5.30 p.m. near the end of the meeting, he said that "severe measures will be taken against the participants", saying that failure to comply with the dissolution instruction order would constitute a violation of the obligation of obedience under the State Civil Service Law. At about 7:30 p.m., the National Police Agency issued a standby sanction to Yoo Sam-young, the director of the Central Ulsan Police Department, who convened and led the meeting.
According to the "Han Nationalities Daily" report, the South Korean police are puzzled by the sudden accountability and disciplinary arrangements, because the location and time of the meeting have been announced on the 20th, although the police headquarters has shown a negative attitude towards the convening of the meeting, but there is no mention of tough countermeasures such as punishment, and the candidate for the police department, Yoon Hee-geun, is also scheduled to listen to Yoo San-young's report on the results of the meeting on the 25th. However, the Government took a sudden and hard line during and after the meeting.
The police suspected internally that Yoon Hee-geun had succumbed to the instructions of his superiors, including the Minister of Administration and Security, and had taken tough measures.
A chief police officer from the Metropolitan Area, who attended the meeting, said: "The establishment of a new police station will bring important changes to the police system, and it would be strange if not a single meeting was held." Meetings between police commissioners are not illegal demonstrations, and it is unacceptable to monitor them like criminals. ”
Yoo Sam-young told the Hank-minh Daily that "this is evidence that the minister of administration and security cannot have personnel power through the police station."
On the afternoon of July 23, Liu Sanrong was walking out of the venue. Image source: Yonhap News Agency
Minister Han Hang-an draws an analogy to the "Chun Doo-hwan military coup": gunshot police could overthrow the government
South Korea's minister of security, Lee Seung-min, criticized on July 25 that police officers could carry weapons, and that if such a meeting was allowed to be left alone (the meeting of police chiefs), gunmen might overthrow the government, and as a chief, he should manage the protests that spread within the police to the level of police superintendents and guards.
Li Xiangmin also compared the National Conference of Police Chiefs to the "Double Twelve Military Coup" of 1979, saying that "this is how the 'New Military Department' launched the '12.12' coup d'état." It is very dangerous for armed groups to arbitrarily gather against government policies in violation of the directives of their superiors."
But Li Xiangmin then added: "Of course, after many years, it is no longer conceivable to plan a coup d'état. ”
Lee also said that severe punishment for participants in the meeting of police chiefs is inevitable, "which has gone beyond the level of simple punishment and is a serious event that may be sentenced to 1 year or less in prison and requires criminal punishment."
Lee said at a parliamentary meeting on the same day, "It's not that all the police in South Korea are like this, but only the police who are involved in this incident." They have damaged the reputations of other police officers who silently carry out their work. He did not specifically mention who the "police-specific group" was.
In 1979, Chun Doo-hwan took a stand on the death of former President Park Chung-hee. Image source: Yonhap News Agency
The Double Twelve Coup, also known as the Coup d'état of the Soong Army, was a military coup d'état launched on December 12, 1979 by Major General Chun Doo-hwan, commander of the South Korean Nationalist Army.
In 1979, when South Korean President Park Chung-hee was assassinated, Chun Doo-hwan was tasked with investigating the assassination of Park Chung-hee, and his ambitions swelled, plotting a mutiny with members of the secret military organization "One Heart Society" led by him in an attempt to get rid of Jung Seung-ho, chief of staff and martial law commander of the Army. The coup d'état broke out at 18:30 on December 12. After the arrest of Chung Seung-ho, at 5:10 a.m. on December 13, Chun Doo-hwan obtained an arrest warrant for Chung Seung-ho, which was posthumously recognized by South Korean President Choi Gyu-ha, and the coup was declared a success.
Through this coup, the "One Heart Society" forces headed by Chun Doo-hwan seized military power and established the "New Military Department". The "New Military Department" then launched the "May 17" emergency martial law incident on May 17, 1980, seizing power, and Chun Doo-hwan was elected president shortly afterwards, amending the constitution and creating the Fifth Republic of the Republic of Korea.
Lee Sang-min's remarks that compared the Rok Sartor General Police Conference to the "Double Twelve Coup" stirred up thousands of waves.
The opposition Common Democratic Party said it would consider a proposal to remove Lee Ande-min, while saying it would pursue the issue at a congressional personnel hearing by police chief candidate Yoon Hee-geun. Yu Xianghu, chairman of the Democratic Party's Extraordinary Countermeasures Committee, referred to the ruling party's dual attitude towards the collective behavior of prosecutors and the police, criticizing: "Ordinary prosecutors' meetings can be, why can't police chiefs' meetings?" Is this an incident that requires punishment? ”。
Previously, when Li Xiangmin was appointed minister of administrative security, he emphasized that he was Yin Xiyue's senior high school and college junior more than administrative experience, and as a state councilor, questions about his abilities and qualifications from all walks of life were also growing.
The police also seemed to be intolerable to Li Xiangmin's statement. On the same day, the police sent more than 30 garlands bearing the words "National Police Officers Are Dead" to the Police Memorial Park opposite the Seodaemun-gu Police Department in Seoul. Messages such as "The Minister of Administration and Security actually described the meeting of the chief police officers to discuss the direction of the organization as a coup d'état, and he should be ashamed" also appeared on the internal message board of the police.
On the 26th, the police placed a wreath in seoul police memorial park, pictured from the "East Asia Daily"
South Korean police also planned to meet again on July 30, and the participants will not be limited to the director of the national police station, but will be expanded to about 140,000 police officers across the country.
Inspector Kim Sung-jong of seoul's Gwangjin Police Department proposed on the 24th that South Korea's "140,000" policemen hold a protest rally. On the morning of the 26th, Kim Sung-jong once again posted on the internal website of the South Korean police that an offline rally would be held at the Grand Stadium of the Korean Police Human Resources Development Center, and 1,000 people were expected to participate. In response to Li Xiangmin's "coup" remarks, he also said that the rally had nothing to do with "guns" or "weapons" and had nothing to do with "coups." He also reminded: "In any case, police colleagues who are interested in the 'coup' and want to have a 'coup' should not participate." ”
According to the latest report of South Korea's "East Asia Daily", Kim Sung-jong once again posted on the police intranet on the 27th that the 140,000 police protest rallies originally scheduled for the 30th have been "voluntarily canceled".
Kim Sung-jong explained that since the National Assembly has adopted the relevant decisions, there is in fact no way to solve the problem through the social dimension.
He also added that it was a dangerous act of revenge and that one could clearly see that it was an abuse of power. Kim Sung-jong expressed confidence that the National Assembly will legislate to correct this illegal establishment of a "police station."
Yin Xiyue made his first statement: the police have seriously violated discipline
On the 26th, Yin Xiyue also commented on the internal opposition of the police to the establishment of a new "police station" by the Ministry of Administration and Security, saying that their performance was "seriously violating" discipline.
Yin Xiyue said that the collective opposes the government's policy and institutional restructuring program promoted in accordance with the Constitution and laws or developed into a "major disciplinary violation" that undermines the national discipline program. Yin Xiyue said that like all citizens, I am also worried about the collective action of police officers at all levels. The final commander and supervisor of the two major basic affairs of the country, national defense and public security, is the president, and today's bill for the establishment of the "police station" will be deliberated by the State Council.
This is the first time that a South Korean president has made a clear statement on the opposition to the "new police station" within the police.
Yonhap News Agency reported that on the 26th, when listening to Li Xiangmin's work report, Yin Xiyue also said that he hoped to reasonably improve the police personnel and police system through the newly established "police station" of the Ministry of Safety and Security. Yin Xiyue instructed Li Xiangmin to communicate well with the police headquarters on police affairs, and instructed that fair and reasonable promotion and appointment arrangements should be carried out in accordance with the police entry route.
Kang In-sin, spokesman for president Han's office, explained on the 26th that those who joined the police rank accounted for 96.35% of the total police force, but only 2.3% of the police cadres who served as police officers or above were from patrol police backgrounds, and Yin Xiyue's relevant instructions were intended to eliminate this unfair phenomenon.
On the 26th, Yin Xiyue listened to the work report of Li Xiangmin, minister of xing'an, pictured from Yonhap News Agency
Yoon Seok-wook's approval rating is at a record low, and South Korean political scientists: The government is entangled in unnecessary fighting
Recently, the South Korean people have become increasingly dissatisfied with Yoon Seok-yue's governance performance due to inflation and runaway housing prices.
The South Korean Central Epidemic Prevention Countermeasures Headquarters reported on the 27th that as of 0:00 on the same day, South Korea added 100,000 new confirmed cases of new crown to 0:00 compared with 0:00 the previous day, and the cumulative number of confirmed cases has reached 19.44 million. According to the "Population Trends in May" statistics released by the South Korean Statistics Agency on the 27th, due to the impact of the new crown epidemic and aging, the number of deaths in South Korea in May was 28,800, an increase of 12.8% year-on-year, the highest in the same month since the opening of relevant statistics, and the increase was also a new high. The number of births was 20,007, and the total population experienced a natural decline for 31 consecutive months.
In terms of prices, the South Korean Statistics Agency announced on July 5 that the South Korean Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 6% year-on-year in June, hitting a new high in nearly 24 years after the international financial crisis in November 1998 (6.8%), and the prices of agricultural and petroleum products soared to raise prices. The core price index, net of agricultural and petroleum products, also rose 4.4 percent, and inflation is spreading across South Korea.
South Korea's CPI rose 6% year-on-year in June, pictured by the Korea Economic News
The latest poll results released by South Korean poller Realmeter on July 25 showed that President Yoon Seok-yue had a 33.3% rating and a bad rating rate of 63.4% in the previous week. The positive rating rate fell by 0.1 percentage points from the previous survey, and the negative rating rate increased by 0.1 percentage points. Accordingly, in Realmeter's survey, Yin Xiyue's praise rate declined or stagnated for 8 weeks from the fourth week of May to the third week of July.
Faced with multiple crises, Yin Xiyue is now trying to use the new government department to strengthen supervision of the police, according to Reuters, Yin Xiyue's move is aimed at limiting the impact of moon-in-era reforms. Previously, Moon's government had taken steps to redistribute powers and responsibilities between the police and the prosecution.
According to Reuters, the confrontation between South Korean police and prosecutors has been going on for decades. Previously, several South Korean presidents used the police to suppress the pro-democracy movement during their terms, while South Korean prosecutors have successively filed criminal charges against former leaders. South Korea's current president, Yoon Seok-wook, was also the country's attorney general.
The Hank Minori daily noted that South Korea's ruling party has shown a clear dual attitude towards prosecutors and the police. Earlier, south Korean prosecutors conducted nearly a month of collective action to oppose the amendments to the Prosecutor's Office Act, etc., and the ruling party said that "this is out of consideration for the independence of the procuratorate", while for the meeting of police chiefs who pointed out that "the government's new police station violates the independence of the police", the ruling party said that "this is a violation of work regulations".
Bloomberg quoted Incheon University professor Lee Joon-han as saying: "Yoon Seok-wook's government is grappling with unnecessary battles rather than addressing some of the real problems facing the country, such as the inflation rate and the spike in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases." ”
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