Presidential Security Service Launches Working-Level "Communications Advisors Team"... Chief-Direct "Red Team" Now in Operation

Team Members Rotate Every Six Months

Frank Criticism of Organizational Management at Official and Unofficial Meetings

Hwang In-Gwon: "Embracing Unfiltered Opinions... Spreading a Horizontal Culture and Realizing Open Security"

The Presidential Security Service has launched the “Communication Advisors Group,” an internal communication and feedback body directly under the chief, composed entirely of working-level staff. By combining the roles of a “Red Team”—which critically examines issues within the organization and proposes alternatives—and of an ombudsman, the initiative aims to make the decision-making structure of the typically rigid security organization more horizontal.

On August 26, the Presidential Security Service announced, “To promote healthy internal communication and establish a horizontal organizational culture, we have formed the independent Communication Advisors Group under the chief and begun its activities.”

The most notable feature of the Communication Advisors Group is that it excludes executives and consists only of working-level staff. By minimizing the influence of the command and reporting chain, the intent is for staff to deliver the problems and solutions they experience in organizational operations directly to the chief of the Presidential Security Service.

Moving forward, the Communication Advisors Group will hold both official and unofficial meetings with Hwang In-gwon, the chief of the Presidential Security Service, as needed, to deliver their perspectives on the overall operation of the organization. The subjects of discussion will range from proposals for institutional reforms aimed at organizational development, to issues arising at the field level, to tasks requiring strategic response.

In particular, the Security Service plans to reselect members of the Communication Advisors Group every six months. This is to prevent opportunities from being concentrated on specific staff or departments, and to enable as many employees as possible to directly voice their opinions on organizational operations.

This measure is an extension of efforts by the Security Service to reform its internal culture since the inauguration of the Lee Jae-myung administration in June of last year. Until now, the organization has expanded channels for internal communication by operating anonymous internal message boards and having the chief host discussions with employees across departments, grades, and job series to listen to on-the-ground opinions directly. According to the Security Service, some opinions collected through these meetings and message boards have already been reflected in actual policies.

Given their mandate to prioritize personal safety and security, security organizations inevitably tend to have a strict top-down command structure. The creation of a separate Red Team to deliver critical opinions and propose alternatives directly to the chief suggests that, while maintaining the strict command system necessary for security operations, the organization intends to actively incorporate internal dissent and alternative views into the management and policy-making process.

Chief Hwang stated, “I expect this will be a meaningful opportunity to directly hear and act on candid opinions and alternatives from frontline staff.” He added, “Through the Communication Advisors Group—which is guaranteed full autonomy—I will promote a more horizontal and dynamic organizational culture.” He further emphasized, “Building on enhanced internal communication, we will devote even more effort to realizing 'open protection' for the people.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.