The nominee for the head of the national police agency said excessive group action within the police in protest against the interior ministry forming a division to oversee police matters would fail to earn sympathy from the general public.

In a statement posted to the police's internal network on Monday, Yoon Hee-keun, the nominee for police commissioner general, said that while he understands the concerns, there is growing public anxiety over a possible vacuum in public security.

Urging members of the police force to reflect on their mission to ensure public safety and defend law and order, the nominee pledged to relay concerns from those in the field during the interior ministry's working-level discussions.

Yoon said he plans to meet soon with the head of a group representing the members of the police force to listen to their concerns.