Police chief says no new group will replace ¡°Sajikdong Team¡±

The nation¡¯s chief police officer said Tuesday that the government would not set up a new organization even though the so-called ¡°Sajikdong Team,¡¯¡¯ a special police investigation unit under the direct control of the presidential office, will be disbanded.

Lee Mu-Young, chief of the National Police Agency, said that his agency would consult the office of the senior presidential secretary for civil affairs about who will take over the business of the special police unit to be dissolved at the instruction of President Kim Dae-Jung. He said he would deal with the issue in a transparent way through inter-police discussions.

Lee was answering questions by lawmakers of the opposition Grand National Party, including Rep. Lee Won-Chang, during a session of the Government Administration and Local Autonomy Committee of the National Assembly.

The committee was one of 11 standing panels such as the Legislation-Judiciary Committee and Intelligence Committee, which convened to continue to deliberate on last year¡¯s settlement and payment of reserve funds and to question related government agencies about their policies.

In his reply to the opposition members¡¯ questions, Lee said he would persuade policemen who serve with the police, instead of compulsory military service, to withdraw the suits they filed last month against some GNP lawmakers since the Sajikdong Team was disbanded.

As for the alleged suppressive investigation of teachers belonging to ¡°Chongyojo,¡± or National Teachers¡¯ Labor Union, Lee said the government would revise regulations in such a way to conduct a summary physical checkup on ordinary criminal suspects or those who should simply be isolated.

Meanwhile, the Intelligence Committee decided to summon five North Korea-related people as witnesses for the parliamentary inspection of state affairs. They include former Kim Il-Sung University professor Cho Myong-Chol, a repatriated South Korean fisherman kidnapped by North Korea, a Korean prisoner of war and a person related to a group of Korean agents sent to the North. The panel also decided to call former Workers¡¯ Party secretary Hwang Jang-Yup as a reference.

Song In-Soo issong@donga.com