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Introduction
Police organizational culture in the USA and other developed countries has been studied for more than 40 years ([42] Paoline, 2003) bringing in its wake change and innovation ([55] Weisburd and Braga, 2006). Police culture is a set of ideas, customs, accepted practices, information and rules of conduct, and core skills that define "good police work" and give meaning to police work ([33] Manning, 1977, [34] 1988; [26] Kingshott et al. 2004; [57] Westly, 1970). Police culture is strongly linked to the nature of work and shared common experiences. [30] Lipsky (1980) called police officers street bureaucrats since they directly interact with citizens and they have wide discretion. Officers are exposed to dangerous situations and they sometimes use coercive power to solve problems ([38] Muir, 1977). These characteristics shape a unique culture much different from other types of work.
The concept of police culture includes the merging of two main elements: the image of objective and professional crime fighters; and system of beliefs and behaviors not written in any official documents ([31] McDonald et al. , 1997). [52] Skolnick (1994) insists that police develop a "working personality" as a consequence of their work environment and that danger and authority are two essential elements of their work conditions. Potential dangers from routine police work lead police officers to develop feelings of suspicion towards, and isolation from the public. When police exert authority, this action limits citizens' liberty, and some citizens resist or challenge police officers' authority and this response reinforces the danger in police work.
A police organizational environment represents officers' relationships with their supervisors and other officers. Most of this work relates to the relationship between police culture and the use of force, corruption, deviant behavior, discretion and management ([15] Harrison, 1998). Individual, organizational and environmental factors affect the officers' understanding of their organizational culture. This in turn helps shape their orientation towards police work and subsequently to various dimensions of behavioral outcomes such as job satisfaction, stress, cynicism, etc.
The aim of this study is to develop a broader understanding of police organizational culture in South Korea[1] . More specifically, given its history and culture we examine various elements of organizational culture as perceived by line officers and supervisors[2] . Unlike studies done...