Amid debate over abolishing the Korean National Police University, the National Council of Police Workplace Associations says promotion opportunities for officers who started as constables should be expanded

[Financial News] Amid reports that the Democratic Party of Korea’s Police Reform Task Force is considering abolishing the undergraduate program at the Korean National Police University, the National Council of Police Workplace Associations has called for expanded promotion opportunities for police officers who started as constables and a revamped system for developing senior officers.
In a statement issued on the 11th, the council said the current debate should not stop at simply abolishing the Korean National Police University, but should serve as an opportunity to address the police organization’s unreasonable recruitment and promotion structure.
The council said concerns had persisted that officers’ recruitment pathways within the police lead to substantial disparities in promotion opportunities and career experience in different assignments. It argued that field officers who joined as constables had faced structural barriers to advancing to higher ranks, despite their extensive practical experience and expertise.
The council pointed out that even if the undergraduate program at the Korean National Police University were abolished, simply increasing the number of officer candidates selected would not be enough to fundamentally resolve these problems.
Accordingly, the council called for substantially expanding opportunities for officers who started as constables to be promoted to inspector, senior inspector and superintendent. It also said that the required periods of field service for officers who graduated from the Korean National Police University or the officer-candidate program should be extended so that capable people can gain sufficient practical experience and develop into commanders.
It also called for a fair personnel and promotion system that evaluates officers based on field experience, professional expertise and job performance rather than their recruitment pathway, and for the views of field officers and workplace associations to be fully reflected in the process of revamping the system for developing senior officers.
The council emphasized that “the purpose of police reform is not to exclude people from a particular background or replace them with people from another,” but “to create a fair organization where anyone can advance through ability and effort.”
It added that “the abolition of the Korean National Police University must not lead to another privileged system for selecting senior officers,” and said it hoped “this reform would be the starting point for ensuring meaningful promotion opportunities for field officers and building a police organization trusted by the public.”
[email protected] Kim Ye-ji Reporter