경찰공무원 징계처분의 법적 성질

With the overall endeavor and atmosphere of our nation to join a group of advanced countries, the disciplinary punishment of police officers has been more strictly imposed than before. As is well known, the trend above has already been solidified in recent years. However, relatively little research has been found on the disciplinary punishment and disposition of police officers. Police officers, like all other public officials, should be servants of the entire people and should be responsible for all the people. They can execute a fair and impartial performance of their duties only when they obtain national confidence. It is natural of police officers to assume the responsibility of the disciplinary punishment when they violate their various obligations. However, the disciplinary disposition of police officers is a discretionary action which grants a discretionary authority to the head of the agency to which they belong, not a binding one with being restricted strictly to law. Thus, it is difficult in reality to conduct judicial review in proper order on whether a disciplinary authority is deviated or abused. Beginning with an overview of the disciplinary punishment of police officers, this study will attempt to scrutinize legal nature of the disciplinary disposition of police officers as a discretionary action theoretically and practically. With this approach, the precedents of Supreme Court of Korea on the disciplinary punishment of police officers have been introduced as much as possible.