Kim Jong-cheol nominated as first police chief under Lee Jae Myung government

Kim Jong-cheol, the deputy commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency who has been serving as acting commissioner general, has been nominated as the first police chief under the Lee Jae Myung government. Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung formally recommended Kim's appointment, describing him as someone with the vision needed to carry out police reform. Kim will be officially appointed after clearing a National Assembly confirmation hearing.

Kim met with reporters Friday afternoon after a special session of the National Police Commission in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, concluded. "I am acutely aware of the public's calls for police reform," he said. "I will enhance the completeness of police work — not only in investigations but also in public safety and administration — and through that, steadily rebuild public trust." The National Police Commission approved his nomination.

Kim identified overhauling response systems for relationship-based crimes and motiveless attacks as the most urgent tasks facing the police. "I believe the most pressing priority is to put various systems in order so that our citizens do not fall victim to such crimes," he said.

During the roughly two-hour-and-20-minute special session, commission members questioned Kim on his policing philosophy and his positions on a range of public safety issues.

After the session ended, Interior Minister Yun held a briefing at Government Complex Seoul. "The National Police Commission has given its approval for the police commissioner general nominee," he said. "Accordingly, I am recommending the appointment of the nominee in accordance with the procedures set out in relevant laws and regulations."

Under Article 14 of the Police Act, the president appoints the commissioner general on the recommendation of the interior minister — with the approval of the National Police Commission and through the prime minister — and the nominee must first pass a National Assembly confirmation hearing.

Yun said Kim "has earned recognition both inside and outside the organization for his outstanding planning ability and drive, having gained broad experience across frontline policing as well as policy oversight functions including autonomous policing, personnel and intelligence." He added that Kim "also possesses the broad perspective needed to carry out the era's defining tasks of reforming the criminal justice system and the police."

Yun said Kim "is the right person to faithfully fulfill the police's mission of protecting the lives, bodies and property of citizens and maintaining public order and safety, drawing on his wealth of experience and organizational management skills."

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 joined the police in 1997 through the officer candidate program and went on to serve as chief of the Seocho Police Station in Seoul and head of the autonomous policing division at the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency, before being seconded to the presidential situation room at Cheong Wa Dae during the Moon Jae-in administration. He subsequently served as head of the public safety division at the Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency, head of the lifestyle safety and traffic division at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, and commissioner of the South Gyeongsang Provincial Police Agency. He was promoted to senior superintendent general in September and took on the roles of deputy commissioner general and acting commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency.