"I'm saying we could give the police a mark with a royal pattern, like the Royal Armored Division or the Navy, to give them a sense of pride as the Royal Police. It would be a great honor to be given the t.i.tle of the royal police officer at this time."

Kasim meant to give the police a boost of encouragement by renaming the organization as Royal Police.

Since it was not a difficult thing, Youngho gladly agreed.

"Well, that's a good idea. I'll talk to the queen."

***

The task of changing the name of the police, one of the government-affiliated organizations, as the Royal Police was easily done by revising related laws.

The police would still be funded by the people's taxes and a government's organization.

"Would it make any difference if its name is changed to the Royal Police?"

It was Kim Chun's words.

He had deep distrust in the police organization as it had been worse than backstreet bullies since the Soviet era.

"It's not going to be the same as before because it's been reformed."

"Only the leaders.h.i.+p has changed, but the working-level officers are the same. Some people worry that they will start to be arrogant again with the royal family on their backs."

The public view was that it was possible to change the police that had been committing irregularities.

"It'll do well because of the weight of carrying the name of the royal family. Let's keep an eye on it."

"I hope so. The police have been a pure embarra.s.sment of Kazakhstan."

The former regime had more than 100,000 police officers for a population of less than 20 million.

The reason for the large number of police officers was to maintain its authority as it worked under the former regime.

So as soon as he took power, Youngho started with reforming and shuffling the police organization.

Except for 40,000 officers, the minimum number needed for security, the government had deployed the rest of the officers to the Russian border to protect the border.

***

The atmosphere of the police organization had changed drastically since they were named royal police officers.

The police were starting to take pride in themselves.

There was nothing to say about the public security as it was known to be great already, and law and order naturally took their place when the police worked in a strict manner.

It was a change in just a few weeks, and the public could feel it.

Previously, police officers were busy nitpicking people's petty affairs, but simple violations of the basic order were handled only by a warning or a simple reprimand.

Although it was only a small change, the impact on the whole of society was huge.

As the basic order was slowly being taken care of, the sense of citizens.h.i.+p was also becoming more sophisticated.

"Look, it only changed its name, but it feels like the world has changed. Now I'm relieved."

Youngho's voice was brighter than ever at the royal conference room.

Despite concerns surrounding the area, the police organization proved its worth to Kazakhstan.

"I think the Police Chief Kaliyev is determined."

Kaliyev visited the royal territory every single day to report on the police's work and progress.

The reason why he visited the royal family was that although it was a government-affiliated inst.i.tution, it was now called the Royal Police.

The fact that the police chief could hold an exclusive meeting with the Duke frequently meant that he would report domestic information. It was strengthening the royal family as well because the duties of the police were endless.

In addition to domestic intelligence service, police engaged in all sorts of things, such as policing, preventing crimes, guarding major facilities, and maintaining social order.

"Your Highness, there is a lot of talk about the police chief pressing too aggressively because of your support. Why don't you keep a little distance?"

"The intelligence chief seems to be keeping the police chief in check too much these days. The police organization is like a young seedling. Let's help it grow. If the police are cooperative with the royal family, it'll be convenient for the Intelligence Service, too."

Park Jong-il was worried that too much power was being given to the police organization.

It felt like leaving a knife to a child.

"It's so bad that the intelligence officers at each agency are in trouble. The police aren't even an inspector, but I think they went too far."

"I guess it's because it hasn't found its place yet. Intelligence Chief, you should coach the police organization. The Intelligence Service is superior in the governmental system."

Youngho was going to let it pa.s.s if it was not causing harm.

It was because the Prime Minister was in charge of the organization.

"The police are independent, so the Intelligence Service can't be involved… I think it'll work faster if Your Highness gives a warning message to the police. If there's a problem, it's better to fix it right away than to wait."

"Let's leave it up to the government since the Prime Minister is in charge. If the intelligence service has any problems with the police, please let him know."

"I'm afraid there will be a word that says the Intelligence Service is wary of the police."

These days, Park Jong-il had a lot of problems with the police intelligence department.

This was because the status of the Intelligence Service had shrunk since the police intelligence department was activated.

Since there were overlapping tasks and police officers were overwhelmingly involved in handling information, causing both organizations to clash with each other.

Although the Intelligence Service was said to be solely responsible for external affairs, there was no external issue that was not linked to domestic affairs.

"Do you have any information exchange between the two agencies?"

"The police intelligence agency is a new inst.i.tution, and the police agents are not well-trained enough. It is desirable for the national interest not to disclose information that may be leaked to the outside world."

"You don't believe in police intelligence."

"To be honest, yes. It doesn't have elite intelligence agents, and we know that their system is not organized."

"Then how about training the police intelligence department at the Intelligence Service? If both organizations work together, it will be more efficient."

"I'll meet with Kaliyev to find a way."

It was only then that Park Jong-il's expression was slightly relaxed.

This was because he was told his Intelligence Service could train the police intelligence department.