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🇰🇷 South Korea /Crime & Justice

Lee says a few rogue officers should not tarnish the police force

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • President Lee Jae-myung said most police officers work diligently and should not lose their reputation because of a small number of misconduct cases.
  • His remarks came as criticism of the police grew amid debates over police reform and allegations of misconduct and incompetence.
  • Lee also said police play important public-service and law-and-order roles despite being understaffed relative to their duties.

President Lee Jae-myung compared a small number of problematic police officers to loaches muddying a well, saying their conduct had damaged the pride of the wider force.

There are always a very small number of loach-like beings that muddy the well, and because of those few, most police officers who work diligently suffer damage to their reputation and their pride is undermined.

— Lee Jae-myungThe president defended most police officers while acknowledging criticism linked to misconduct cases.

At a Cabinet meeting, Lee said criticism of the police had intensified as debate over police reform continued. He argued that the actions of a few should not define officers who work conscientiously.

Lee said police perform an important role in maintaining public order and providing services to citizens. He also said the force is understaffed in relation to the work it carries out.

The majority of good police officers are clearly doing their best.

— Lee Jae-myungLee emphasized that most officers were working responsibly despite criticism of the police.

“The majority of good police officers are clearly doing their best,” Lee said. He added that an organization could not survive if almost all its members behaved in corrupt, incompetent or irresponsible ways.

Police play a very important role, not only in maintaining national order but also in providing services, and their role is extremely significant.

— Lee Jae-myungThe president described the police force’s public duties.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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