Presidential chief of staff Kim Dae-ki has criticized senior police officials for holding a meeting to protest the planned launch of a police bureau under the interior ministry.

Kim issued the criticism on Sunday in a press conference at the presidential office, calling the meeting "inappropriate."

The presidential chief of staff said that there are three agencies that are more powerful than the Cabinet ministries – the prosecution, the police agency and the National Tax Service. He continued that the prosecution and tax service are supervised by their respective bureaus in other ministries, and the police agency is the only one without such a watchdog.

The criticism came a day after some 190 senior superintendent-level officials from across the country held a meeting both online and offline in Ansan, South Chungcheong Province.

After a discussion that lasted nearly four hours, the participants unanimously expressed concern that establishing a supervisory bureau under the interior ministry would impair the rule of law.

Soon after the meeting, Ryu Sam-young, a senior superintendent who led the meeting, was put on the waiting list for a new assignment in an apparent disciplinary action. The National Police Agency also launched an inspection on about 50 participants.