Police Chief Candidate Named After Two-Year Vacancy... Kim Jong-cheol: "With a Sense of Responsibility"

Kim Jongcheol Named Candidate for Police Chief After Two Months as Acting Commissioner

45th Class of Senior Officer Candidate Program... Served on Lee Administration's National Planning Committee

"There Are Many Concerns About the Police...

After a two-year vacancy, Kim Jongcheol, acting commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency (deputy chief and superintendent general), has been selected as a candidate for the agency’s top post. The commissioner general post has been vacant for 1 year and 11 months, since then-Commissioner General Cho Ji-ho was impeached in December 2024. If appointed, Kim would become the first commissioner general under the Lee Jae-myung administration.

Acting Korean National Police Agency Commissioner General Kim Jong-cheol delivers remarks at a ceremony marking the 81st Police Day at the agency’s headquarters in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on the 21st of last month. Yonhap News Agency

Appearing before the National Police Commission in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 6th, Kim said, "I know that public expectations for the police are higher than ever, and that voices of concern are even louder. I feel a heavy sense of responsibility at being nominated as a candidate for commissioner general at such a grave time." He added, "As my capabilities and qualifications are being assessed today as a candidate for commissioner general, I will participate sincerely and with a strong sense of responsibility."

The National Police Commission is scheduled to deliberate on a motion to approve the recommendation of a candidate for commissioner general at its meeting today. Under the current Police Act, if the commission approves the motion, the president nominates the candidate upon the recommendation of the minister of the interior and safety. The candidate is then appointed after a parliamentary confirmation hearing. The term is two years.

Kim Jongcheol, acting Commissioner General of the Korean National Police Agency. Korean National Police Agency

Kim was born in 1970 in Hamyang, South Gyeongsang Province. He graduated from Myeongsin High School in Jinju and the Department of English at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. He earned a master's degree in convergent security from Chung-Ang University and a doctorate in public administration from the Korean National Police University. After joining the police force in 1997 as a member of the 45th class of the police officer candidate program, Kim served as chief of the Seocho Police Station in Seoul, head of the autonomous police division at the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency, and at the Blue House's National Situation Room. He later served as head of the public safety divisions at the Daegu and Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agencies, and held key posts in public safety and public welfare, including head of the life safety and transportation division at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, head of the public safety division at the Chungnam Provincial Police Agency, and commissioner of the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency.

He was also seconded to the National Planning Committee, which served as the equivalent of a presidential transition committee under the Lee Jae-myung administration. He has been considered a leading candidate for commissioner general since the early days of the administration and has served as acting commissioner general since being appointed deputy chief of the National Police Agency last September.

Kim was promoted to superintendent general in September this year, just one year after attaining the rank of senior superintendent general. If the appointment process proceeds smoothly, he will reach the police force's highest rank, commissioner general, just two months later. There is a precedent from the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, when then-Commissioner General Yoon Hee-geun was promoted at an exceptionally rapid pace through the ranks of senior superintendent general, superintendent general, and commissioner general in just eight months.

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