The National Police Agency has removed an exclusive dining area for superintendent generals and higher-level officials screened off from the common cafeteria.

NPA commissioner nominee Min Gab-ryong recently ordered the removal of partitions dividing the dining hall for senior officials, which were often seen as a symbol of an authoritarian organizational culture.

Former Commissioner Lee Cheol-seong resigned late last month, but the National Assembly has yet to hold a confirmation hearing for Min. 

For the first time since the NPA headquarters building opened in 1991, senior police officials are dining with rank-and-file officers and are no longer served additional menus such as fried eggs.

“(Min’s) instruction comes as he believes separating the dining space for high-level officials and others creates disharmony,” a police official said.

“It seems that he has been thinking about it for a while.”

The idea had been raised among rank-and-file officers as a move to eradicate the authoritarian culture.

After Min was nominated as the police chief last month, the former deputy chief of the NPA organized a team led by a superintendent general to prepare for his parliamentary confirmation hearing.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)