A hole in internal control, repeated post-event recovery... 130,000 police officers put to an unprecedented 'test'.

As the revised criminal procedure law approaches implementation, multiple scandals have erupted, exposing weaknesses in the police internal control system. The police's expanded jurisdiction has made national symbols stricter, but vulnerabilities in internal control networks have been exposed, prompting serious trust crises. The public's intense scrutiny of authority and responsibility has left the police in a difficult position.

Both of the recent scandals involve the misuse of authority and improper handling in local police departments. On the 25th, Chorong Jae-hoon, deputy chief of the Jeju West Police Station, exploited a flaw in the disappearance profiling system to terminate a case without management approval. In the "Jang Yoon-gi case," 18 years of police work under Jeju Mining Police allowed the son of the accused to receive various favors, and surveillance information was leaked.

Despite this, the police only conducted post-mortem investigations and released a scolding pamphlet after the situation escalated. For the recent 298 disappearance cases under the jurisdiction of Chorong Jae-hoon, 31,000 disappearances from the past three years were screened, revealing 117 cases involving police relatives. The "rotation appointment system" in response to public criticism has failed to address the issue.

The government, under President Yoo Jae-myung's order on the 25th, installed a reform organization under the Prosecutor General's Office and ordered an emergency meeting of the senior police command to address internal reforms. Chairman of the National Police Agency, Yun Hyong-kyu, urged thorough investigations into the origins of the Jeju disappearance case and a comprehensive review of the disappearance work system.

However, the police are now facing a "crisis" of public scrutiny due to the recent amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act, which expanded their investigative authority. While the police have repeatedly submitted reform proposals, the public's lack of trust in them remains high, according to a police source. The large discrepancy in human capacity and ethical standards among the 13,000 police officers is seen as the most significant challenge for internal control.

Professor Jong-won Kang of Kyungpook National University suggests implementing strong police reforms, including adopting strict control devices and ensuring accountability through direct appointments by the President.