Key facts
- Kim Jong-chul, chief of the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency, was appointed deputy commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency.
- This appointment effectively makes Kim the acting head of the national police force.
- The top post has been vacant for over 20 months.
- The reshuffle replaced 14 of 18 provincial and city-level police chiefs.
- Over 80 percent of senior superintendent general ranks were replaced.
- Ko Beom-seok is the new chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.
- Yu Seung-ryeol is the new chief of the Incheon Metropolitan Police.
Kim Jong-chul, the chief of the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency, has been appointed deputy commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA), effectively making him the acting head of the national police force. This appointment comes amid a prolonged vacancy in the top post, with Yoo Jae-seong having served as acting commissioner for over 20 months.
The KNPA stated that the reshuffle applied a regional avoidance principle, aiming to enhance impartiality and prevent corruption by generally not assigning senior officers to their hometowns or regions where they have close ties. As part of this personnel shakeup, 14 out of 18 provincial and city-level police chiefs were replaced, representing 78 percent of the total. Additionally, over 80 percent of senior superintendent general ranks were also replaced.
In other appointments stemming from the reshuffle, Ko Beom-seok was named the new chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, and Yu Seung-ryeol was promoted to head the Incheon Metropolitan Police chief. The KNPA indicated plans to overhaul its personnel system further and extend the regional avoidance principle to other key positions in future reshuffles.