Police Split by Rival Promotion Plans

The police are going through domestic discord on the promotion of police lieutenants in continuous service planned later this year. The divide that was made last month between the topside and the below sergeant positions on the promotion of police lieutenants in continuous service is branching out to a split within the lower positions.

The Police Bureau stated on May 30 that it came up with a complementary measure with which to decide who should be promoted in the September 1 promotion of police lieutenants in continuous service.

The Police Bureau had on April 7 omitted the lower 40 percent of those who had served for over eight continuous years based wholly on performance-based evaluations. When this resulted in a mass omission of police sergeants aged above 50, Club Mugungwha, an association of policemen in lower positions in and out of service, opposed this as a group and propelled administrative litigation requiring that all be promoted.

The Police Bureau decided to reflect both the performance evaluation and service terms in a proportion of 50 percent each when confirming who is to be promoted.

The problem now is whether one’s service terms should reflect the number of years he or she served as a police officer or police sergeant.

The bureau proposed two different plans. Plan 1 reflects the number of years in service as a police officer by 30 percent, and the number of years as a police sergeant by 20 percent. Plan 2 reflects the number of years in service as a police officer by 20 percent, and the number of years as a police sergeant by 30 percent.

Policemen below the sergeant position are now engaged in a verbal battle divided into two groups: Old Sergeants, those who have served long but were promoted slowly, and young Sergeants, those who haven’t served long but were promoted quickly.

Supposing there’s a sergeant who began service as a police officer in 1980 and was promoted to sergeant in 1995 and another who began police service in 1990 and was promoted to sergeant in 1998. Who will cry or laugh depends on which plan will be adopted.

Old Sergeants, who support the first plan, are pouring out posts on domestic web boards with such opinions as, “It’s without a doubt that the long service should be respected accordingly”; “Young policemen are blind for promotion.” On the other hand the young sergeants are posting opinions that the older sergeants are trying to weigh not their abilities, but their age, and say they will push for administrative litigation in case the first plan is adopted.

An official of the Police Bureau said that three Internet polls and public hearings gave 74 percent support for the first plan. The bureau will hold a police committee meeting on June 19 and start the discussions regarding the two plans, and come to a final conclusion in July.

foryou@donga.com