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Following a surge in applications for honorary retirement, it was revealed on the 5th that the National Police Agency The National Police Agency has capped the number of people eligible for honorary retirement this year at 800. Under the pretext of a “budget shortfall,” it was interpreted as a draconian measure to stop the rapid outflow of personnel. The retirement of police officers in their 20s and 30s is also on the rise. There are concerns that the simultaneous increase in the outflow of both senior and rookie personnel could lead to a security vacuum.
According to the National Police Agency, the number of police officers retiring with honors increased by 44 percent in two years, from 710 in 2020 to 865 in 2021, and 1,025 in 2022. The National Police Agency set the number of eligible personnel for honorary retirement this year at 800, which is 22 percent lower than last year, and received a budget for it.
As more police officers express their desire for honorary retirement, competition for it is becoming fierce among frontline police officers, with the number eligible for it being limited. In response, the National Police Agency notified each provincial and metropolitan police agency on August 4th to “limit regular applications to four times and close open applications by August 31st.” They have also established a policy to prioritize those with higher ranks or longer service if there are many applicants.
The National Police Agency cited “budget shortages” as the reason for the restrictions. The budget for honorary retirements related to this year has increased by ￦6.7 billion from last year to ￦52.26 billion (US$1=￦1335). However, the agency’s position is that this budget can only accommodate 800 honorary retirements. Last year, they used remaining allowance budgets left over from the COVID-19 pandemic, but this year, additional budgets are unaffordable.
Most of the applicants for honorary retirement are known to be police officers with over 20 years of service. They include inspectors and senior inspectors who have been guarding the field at local police boxes or precincts, as well as superintendents, senior superintendents, and superintendent generals who have supervised and commanded front-line operations at provincial and metropolitan police agencies.
“High work intensity and relatively low salaries compared to other professions were factors that led to honorary retirement,” the officers said. A superintendent from a Seoul police station who applied for honorary retirement last month said, “Frequent overtime work has deteriorated my health, and I also had doubts about what more I could do in this organization, which led me to decide to retire earlier than the regular retirement age.” According to the Police Officials Act, the retirement age for police officers is 60 years old. An official from the National Police Agency stated that they view the increase in applications for honorary retirement among experienced police officers as a serious issue.
The departure of young officers from the police force is also accelerating. According to data submitted by the National Police Agency to the office of Rep. Chun Joon-ho of the Democratic Party of Korea, the number of police retirees in 2030 rose to 201 last year from 125 in 2018. In particular, police officers in their 20s and 30s who retired until July this year numbered 216, accounting for 23% of the total retirees (932). According to data submitted by the National Police Agency to the office of Rep. Chung Woo-taik of the People’s Power, a total of 321 police officers resigned in the last five years (2018-2022). Among them, 314 (97.8 percent) had less than 5 years of service. They were reported to have retired due to the hierarchical atmosphere within the police organization and relatively low benefits. A recent retiree, Mr. A, who worked as a patrol officer for two years, said, “I was under a lot of stress due to malicious complaints.” He added, “I joined the police with a sense of mission, but as I struggled with my work every day, I thought I should find another path earlier.” Mr. A was stationed at a local precinct in the Seoul metropolitan area, worked in 4 shifts, and earned an average monthly salary of ￦2.5 million. The number of police academy graduates who resigned without completing their mandatory service of six years also reached a record high of 31.
The “adjustment of investigative powers for the police and prosecution,” which was implemented in 2021, has also been mentioned as a cause of the attrition of police personnel. With the police gaining the authority to conclude primary investigations, there have been complaints within investigative departments that “the number of cases to be handled has surged.” The ‘average processing period per case’ for the police increased from 48.9 days in 2018 to 67.7 days last year.
Experts suggest that the issue of police personnel attrition should be addressed through the efficient allocation of manpower. Professor Lee Woong-hyuk of Konkuk University’s Police Science Department said, “When excellent police personnel continue to leave, the police leadership should seriously conduct organizational reassessment,” adding, “All available methods, including manpower redistribution, should be used.” Currently, the number of police officers in South Korea stands at 130,000.
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