Cho Hyun-oh, commissioner general of the National Police Agency, has declared war on organized crime. The police chief told a press conference on Tuesday that he has launched a sweeping crackdown on the 220 gangs that operate in the nation. The members of these factions are estimated at some 5,500.

Cho said he has ordered police officers to use all devices and equipment available, including firearms, to round up these gangsters.

The war against organized gangsters was prompted by the failure of police officers to prevent a bloody street fight between two rival gangs in Incheon last week.

According to reports, dozens of gangsters from two factions confronted each other at a hospital on Oct. 21. Five police officers were sent to the scene but they did not bother to disperse them because no clash occurred.

Then a gang member got into a scuffle with another from the rival faction and stabbed him. The police officers watched the tussle but failed to prevent the violence.

The stabbing triggered violent clashes, and the number of gangsters quickly swelled to around 130 in total. Although some 70 police officers were called to the scene, they lacked the courage to intervene and stop the bloody fight. The melee lasted for about two hours, terrifying citizens.

Even more deplorably, the police station in the district made a false report on the incident. Cho said he came to know about it through TV news the next day.

Reprimanding Incheon police for their cowardice, Cho was quoted as saying, “If police officers are intimidated by gangsters and chicken out, they can no longer be called as such.” He said those who were at the scene should have used their guns.

By coincidence, Oct. 21 was Police Day and President Lee Myung-bak stressed in a congratulatory speech that the police should play a central role in criminal investigations. Lee’s reference was taken as suggesting his support for the police in the recently rekindled dispute between the prosecution and the police over police officers’ right to initiate investigations.

Yet the Incheon incident raised questions about the wisdom of expanding police’s investigation rights as it demonstrated their ineptitude in protecting citizens from violence, one of their basic duties. It also showed their lack of discipline and a tendency to cut corners.

Together with a crackdown on crime rings, Cho launched an inspection of provincial police agencies as allegations were raised about corruption among local police officers. This reinforces the public’s distrust of the police. Police officers should clean up their act before seeking more investigative powers.