The Military Human Rights Center, which previously accused Park Hyun Soo, the acting chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, of insurrection charges, has now criticized Jo Jung Rae, the deputy chief of public safety. The center claims to have mobilized police officers to participate in a choir praising President Yoon Suk Yeol.
In a press release on Monday, the Military Human Rights Center stated that Deputy Chief Jo, as commander of the 101st Security Division, was responsible for dispatching 85 police officers under his command to a loyalty demonstration. This event, disguised as the Presidential Security Service’s 60th anniversary celebration on December 18, 2023, was allegedly a birthday party for President Yoon.
The 101st Security Division guards the Yongsan Presidential Office. Controversy arose when it was revealed that the Security Service had used its anniversary event to celebrate the president’s birthday, even organizing a performance of a birthday song by its employees.
According to Democratic Party Representative Baek Hye Ryun, a member of the National Assembly’s Special Committee for Investigating Insurrection, 29 police officers from the 101st Security Division, 10 from the 202nd Security Division, and 8 from the 22nd Police Protection Unit participated in the birthday choir. The security service reportedly gave each officer a bonus of 300,000 KRW (approximately $225).
In addition to the choir, 56 officers from the 101st Security Division, 24 from the 202nd Security Division, and 12 from the 22nd Police Protection Unit were reported to have attended the event. Thus, the total number of participants, including choir members and attendees, reached 139.
The Military Human Rights Center pointed out that Jo, like Park Hyun Soo, has advanced rapidly in his career under the Yoon administration. They contrasted this with Jo’s predecessor, Oh Boo Myung, now chief of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency, who had requested reconsideration of an order from former Seoul Police Chief Kim Bong Sik to seal off the National Assembly during the state of emergency. The center suggested that Oh’s sidelining was due to his reluctance to support the alleged insurrection, while those more loyal to Yoon were promoted to key positions.
The center argued that Seoul’s public safety should not be entrusted to individuals potentially complicit in insurrection or those who flatter Yoon. Jo, previously serving as the Police Chief Information Officer, was promoted to Chief Superintendent and appointed the deputy chief of public safety at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on February 7. His career trajectory under the Yoon administration has been notably swift: from chief of Seoul’s Jongno Police Station at the start of Yoon’s presidency, to head of the 101st Security Division in July of the same year, then to police commissioner in 2023, and finally to Police Chief Information Officer in February 2024.
On February 14, the Military Human Rights Center filed a report against Park, the acting chief who previously served as director of the Police Bureau at the Ministry of Interior and Safety. The report accuses Park of being involved in insurrection-related activities. Park had previously appeared as a witness before the police’s special investigation unit on the emergency military regime on December 19 last year.