March 18, 2025
SEOUL – Police officers in South Korea have been pushed to the brink of exhaustion and overwork, as the number of protests held over the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol has surged since Yoon’s Dec. 3 martial law debacle.
According to recent data submitted by the Korean National Police Agency to Rep. Yang Bu-nam of the Democratic Party of Korea, a total of 5,462 mobile police squad deployments were made to protest sites from December to February.
The units are used for crowd control, and typically consist of about 60 officers. In December alone, units were deployed around 2,005 times — a 19.6 percent increase from the 1,677 made the month before. In January and February, 1,727 and 1,730 deployments were made, respectively, with February’s deployments up 49.3 percent compared to the same month in 2024.
The recent increase in mobile police deployments is due to the increase in protests held nationwide, the majority of which have been in the capital, where people gather to either voice their support for Yoon’s impeachment or against it.
From protests urging the National Assembly to vote on confirming or rejecting Yoon’s impeachment in December to those calling for and against Yoon’s arrest in January, the number of protests from both pro- and anti-protesters has driven officers in mobile units to work additional overtime. Protests have also escalated in recent months as the date of Yoon’s impeachment verdict inches closer, though the exact day has yet to be announced by the Constitutional Court.
The average overtime hours worked by officers in mobile police squads was already high. According to data submitted by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency to Rep. Yang, it totaled 80 hours in November. But the data showed it rose to 92 hours in December and 113.7 hours in January .
Police are exempt from the 52-hour workweek rule that applies to most employees under the Labor Standards Act, because of the need to respond immediately to public safety threats and emergencies that are not necessarily predictable.
A mobile police squad officer stationed at the protests near Seoul’s Anguk Station on Saturday told The Korea Herald that he and many fellow officials are “severely exhausted” and “are practically begging for proper rest.”
“There has been a continuous increase in the number and scale of protests since December. As a result, more police officials like us are constantly working overtime, yet not even the bare minimum of rest is guaranteed for us,” said the officer on the condition of anonymity. “Just in January alone, I’m pretty sure I worked more than 150 overtime hours. There just aren’t enough mobile police squad officers to handle the growing number of protests and the agency really needs to do something about it.”
In the past, Korea’s mobile police units used to be supplemented by conscription-based police officers. However, as the system was abolished in 2021, mobile police units only consist of full-time police officers and now face challenges such as increased workload and manpower shortages.
Another officer, who wished to be identified by his last name, Kim, also told The Korea Herald that the level of aggression from protesters toward police has also recently intensified as the date of Yoon’s impeachment verdict draws closer.
“I don’t even know where this rumor even started, but some protesters genuinely believe we’re ‘Chinese communists.’ Every day, we hear insulting and derogatory remarks, calling us ‘commies’ and ‘Chinese agents,’” said Kim.
Recently, conspiracy theories have risen on internet platforms here, such as far-right YouTube channels and internet forums, claiming that the police are “infiltrated by leftists” or “fake Chinese agents.” Some claim that Korea’s police are dominated by “leftist forces” hired under former President Moon Jae-in.
“You think these comments wouldn’t have much impact if you don’t put meaning into it, but the more you hear it, the more stressful it becomes,” Kim continued. “What makes it worse here is that no countermeasures are made to protect the police’s mental health at the institutional level. We really can’t do anything, and it makes us feel helpless.”
With protests expected to continue even after Yoon’s impeachment verdict, professor Lee Keon-su from Baekseok University’s Department of Police Administration told The Korea Herald that there is a need for “flexible personnel deployment” and a “clear compensation system” for all police squad officials stationed at the pro- and anti-Yoon protests.
“To meet the demand of public security in the midst of political protests, personnel deployment must be made more flexible, including better working conditions and flexibility in mobilizing police troops,” Lee said. “Currently, there are no real benefits for police officials handling high-intensity duties. A better compensation system must be provided other than substitute holidays to meet the demands of accumulating physical and mental exhaustion.”