The government carried out a sweeping reshuffle of senior police leadership late Tuesday, replacing 14 of the country's 18 regional police chiefs in a single overnight personnel move.
Kim Jong-cheol, 56, the South Gyeongsang Province police chief, was appointed deputy commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency. Yu Jae-seong, who had served as acting commissioner general for roughly 15 months, will step down Wednesday. Kim will succeed Yu as acting commissioner general and lead the agency for now. The move means the police force will have had three consecutive acting heads since former Commissioner General Cho Ji-ho was impeached in December 2024 following the Dec. 3 emergency martial law declaration.
Kim was born in 1970 in Hamyang, South Gyeongsang Province. He graduated from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies with a degree in English and joined the police in 1997 as part of the 45th class of police officer candidates. He was previously seconded to the national situation room at Cheong Wa Dae during the Moon Jae-in administration. He has held mostly non-investigative posts, including chief of the Seocho Police Station in Seoul, head of the autonomous police division at the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency, and head of the public safety division at the South Chungcheong Province Police Agency.
The reshuffle introduced a blanket ban on officers serving in regions where they have personal ties — a policy known as "hyangpije." The Korean National Police Agency said it applied the rule to all regional police chiefs "to restore public trust in the police" and pledged to extend it to other key positions in follow-up personnel moves.
The measure is widely seen as a response to criticism over what has been called "hyangchal" — local police protecting local interests — following a string of recent controversies involving alleged cover-ups, including the Gwangju murder case involving Jang Yun-gi and the deaths of two missing persons in Jeju.
Ko Beom-seok, 56, the South Jeolla Province police chief, was named Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency commissioner. Ko, a native of Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, graduated in the eighth class of the Korea National Police University and previously served as head of the security bureau at the Korean National Police Agency and head of the mobile unit command at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. Park Jeong-bo, the outgoing Seoul commissioner who had been mentioned as a candidate for the next commissioner general, will retire.
Yu Seung-ryeol, 55, the agency's investigation planning and coordination officer, was appointed Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency commissioner. Yu graduated in the tenth class of the Korea National Police University and has served as Korean National Police Agency spokesperson and head of the public security intelligence bureau.
Ko Pyeong-gi, the Jeju police chief who had been included on the list of officers slated for promotion to senior superintendent general alongside Kim, was left out of this round of appointments. The exclusion is seen as a disciplinary measure after two missing persons whose deaths police had concealed were found dead in Jeju last month.
Meanwhile, outgoing Acting Commissioner General Yu delivered a farewell address Tuesday that mixed encouragement with a call for reform. "South Korea's public safety record is recognized worldwide," he said. "Behind that recognition is the sweat of officers on the ground and their repeated efforts at reform."
Yu also urged the force to confront its recent failings head-on. "And yet the string of recent incidents has made people question the very reason the police exist," he said. "I ask that you boldly discard bad practices, change the way you work without hesitation, and use this crisis as a springboard for a greater leap forward — so that you can keep the daily lives of the people safer."
In a message to the public, Yu said: "When people need protection, the police are the first to run to them. I ask that you look with warm eyes on the hardships officers face on the front lines of public safety."
arin@heraldcorp.com
