DISPUTE OVER POLICE BUREAU CONTINUES

[Anchor Lead]

Political disputes are continuing over the establishment of a new police bureau,with a new atmosphere detected in police officers' group resistance. In a parliamentary interpellation session, the opposition bloc said the bureau is unconstitutional and illegal, calling it a coup. The government and ruling party hit back saying the move is to correct past practices of unofficially controlling the police and make it legal.

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Interior Minister Lee Sang-min likened the meeting of police superintendents to a military coup. He backed down eventually, as even ruling party members showed disapproval of the comparison, calling his remarks immoderate.

[Soundbite] Lee Sang-min(Interior Minister) : "I humbly accept the criticism that my remarks were excessive."

But the minister still insisted that the previous government had controlled the police via an unofficial channel.

[Soundbite] Lee Man-hee(People Power Party) : "Do you think the political neutrality and independence of the police was well protected under the Moon administration?"

[Soundbite] Lee Sang-min(Interior minister) : "No, I don't think so."

Condemning the creation of a new police bureau as a coup, the opposition bloc said the government applies double standards to the prosecution and the police.

[Soundbite] Han Jeoung-ae(Democratic Party) : "The justice ministry plans to abolish the minister's authority to command the prosecutor general while giving the prosecution an independent right to devise its own budget proposals. By contrast, the interior ministry is pushing to command the police commissioner. Isn't it conflicting?"

[Soundbite] Lee Sang-min(Interior Minister) : "The new police bureau is not an organization to direct the police commissioner or the NPA. You have a serious misunderstanding. The new agency is for carrying out personnel decisions."

The interior minister refuted a news report about lawyer Lee Seog-yeon's opposition to the government's push to set up a new police bureau. The lawyer who served as minister of government legislation under the Lee Myung-bak administration reportedly said that the new agency creation is unconstitutional.

[Soundbite] Lee Sang-min(Interior Minister) : "Lawyer Lee Seog-yeon got it wrong completely. He would have not said so if he had taken a look at our revision of the government organization act."

The Democratic Party plans to form a party task force and prevent the government's move by all means. It also pledged to hold the interior minister accountable. In response, the ruling People Power Party stressed that the police bureau creation is legal and called on the main opposition party to stop demagogic politics.