First National Police Agency Chief Under Lee Jaemyung Administration Expected to Be Appointed This Month

Kim Jongchul Appointed as New Deputy Commissioner General, Becomes Third Acting Commissioner

First Police Chief Under Lee Jaemyung Administration Expected This Month

"A Burden to Remain Vacant amid Prosecutor's Office Abolition, Assembly Aud

The position of Commissioner General of the National Police Agency, which has stood vacant for nearly two years, is expected to be filled this month. In a recent round of executive appointments, the National Police Agency applied a 'disconnection from personal ties policy' that prohibited all provincial police chiefs from working in regions related to their backgrounds, signaling a move toward personnel reform. This measure is seen as a response to ongoing controversies over inadequate investigations, local collusion, and loosened discipline within the organization.

Kim Jongcheol, the newly appointed Deputy Commissioner of the National Police Agency who will serve as Acting Commissioner, is arriving at the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency in Uichang District, Changwon City, Gyeongnam Province on the morning of the 2nd. Photo by Yonhap News

Yu Jaeseong, Deputy Commissioner and Acting Commissioner General of the National Police Agency, held a departure ceremony at the agency's headquarters in Seodaemun District, Seoul, on the morning of the 2nd and stepped down. He had served as acting Commissioner General for a year and three months since June 2025, marking the longest tenure as acting head in the agency’s history. At one point, he was considered a potential candidate for the next Commissioner General, but his accountability for issues such as mishandling of the Jang Yoonki case and the false closure of the Jeju disappearance case, as well as impending reforms to the judicial system including the abolition of the prosecutor’s office, appear to have influenced his departure.

As a result, Kim Jongcheol, head of the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency, who was appointed as the new Deputy Commissioner in the executive reshuffle the previous day, will now take on the role of acting Commissioner General. He becomes the third acting commissioner since the state of emergency martial law. The Commissioner General position has remained vacant for one year and nine months since December 2024. According to reports, Kim plans to begin work on the morning of the 3rd not with a separate inauguration ceremony, but with an executive leadership meeting. He is expected to deliver a message emphasizing a return to discipline and focusing on the core responsibilities of the police.

Speaking to reporters ahead of his farewell ceremony as Gyeongnam chief, Kim referenced the Jang Yoonki case and the false closure of the Jeju disappearance. He said, "It is necessary to examine every aspect of police work—to the extent that we can call it a ‘redesign’—to ensure that systems directly related to public life and safety are functioning properly." He also expressed concerns for frontline officers, saying, "It is unreasonable to demand unilateral sacrifice from police personnel."

Within the agency and beyond, it is widely expected that the first police chief of the Lee Jaemyung administration will be appointed this month. With the revised Criminal Procedure Act taking effect in October—abolishing the prosecutor’s office and introducing new agencies such as the Serious Crimes Investigation Office and the Public Prosecution Office—stakeholders shared concerns that it would be too burdensome to continue another round of parliamentary audits under an acting chief this year, following the same situation last year.

The leading candidate is Kim Jongcheol, who is currently serving as acting Commissioner General. Kim worked on secondment to the National Policy Planning Commission, which serves as the transition committee for the current administration. If appointed Commissioner General, he will be promoted to Chief Superintendent General just one year after becoming Senior Superintendent General, and only a few days later, to the top post of Commissioner General. There is a precedent from the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, when then chief Yoon Heegeun was rapidly promoted from Senior Superintendent General to Chief Superintendent General and to Commissioner General within eight months.

Some speculate that Lee Jongwon, former Chief of the North Chungcheong Provincial Police and now presidential secretary for public safety, could return to the agency and be appointed Commissioner General immediately. However, according to the Police Act, the Commissioner General must be chosen from current Chief Superintendent Generals, so Secretary Lee would need to be specially appointed to that rank before assuming the post. Other potential candidates include Go Beomseok, head of the South Jeolla Provincial Police newly appointed to lead the Seoul Metropolitan Police, and Yu Seunglyeol, head of Investigation Planning and Coordination at headquarters, who is moving to the Incheon Metropolitan Police Department.

The key policy behind this round of senior police appointments is expanding the practice of disconnection from regional and personal ties, aiming to eliminate local collusion. Fourteen out of eighteen provincial police chiefs were replaced, and all were assigned in regions unrelated to their hometowns or connections. Among the Chief Superintendent General positions, the post for the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency — for which Koh Pyeonggi, current Jeju chief, had been named — remains vacant for now. Although Koh was initially nominated for promotion to Chief Superintendent General, his name was omitted from the final promotion and transfer list. He was instead appointed Director of the National Crime Prevention and Traffic Bureau in a ‘non-promoted appointee’ status, seemingly in response to the accountability for the false closure in the disappearance case.

A National Police Agency official stated, "In the follow-up appointments, we will continue to revise the system, for example, by expanding the policy prohibiting ties to major posts such as inspection, audit, and human rights directors at provincial agencies, in order to further enhance the credibility and fairness of police work."

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