Three Senior Police Inspectors Reassigned
Fifteen Police Inspectors Also Transferred
New Police Bureau Chief is Kim Hee-jung
On the morning of the 2nd, when the Police Bureau officially launched, Kim Sun-ho, the first Police Bureau Chief, listened to reporters' questions and smiled at the Police Bureau inside the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
Jo Ji-ho (54), Director of the Public Safety Information Bureau at the National Police Agency, has been appointed as the new Deputy Commissioner of the National Police Agency. Woo Jong-su (54), the current Deputy Commissioner, will move to become the Commissioner of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, and Kim Soon-ho (59), who faced allegations of being an informant, will transfer from his position as Director of the Police Bureau at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to become the President of the Korean National Police University.
The National Police Agency announced these personnel changes on the 28th. Among the three Senior Commissioner-level officers who have been reassigned, the new Police University President Kim and new Deputy Commissioner Jo were both promoted from Commissioner to Senior Commissioner on the 20th. The Senior Commissioner rank is the second highest in the police hierarchy, with only the Commissioner General, i.e., the National Police Commissioner, above it. Police officers at the rank of Senior Superintendent and above are appointed by the President through the Prime Minister upon recommendation by the Minister of the Interior and Safety, who receives recommendations from the National Police Commissioner.
Kim, who was promoted from Superintendent to Commissioner in June and then rapidly promoted to Senior Commissioner within six months, was born in Gwangju and attended Gwangju High School and Sungkyunkwan University, majoring in Political Science and Diplomacy. He began his police career in 1989 as a sergeant through a special recruitment. He was promoted to Superintendent in 2017 and served as Chief of Gwangsan Police Station in Gwangju, First Deputy Commissioner of Jeonbuk Provincial Police Agency, Security Chief of Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Superintendent of Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, and Chief of Suwon Nambu Police Station in Gyeonggi Province. After his promotion to Commissioner, he was assigned as Director of the National Security Investigation Bureau at the National Police Agency and became the inaugural Director of the Police Bureau within a month. During this period, Kim was embroiled in the so-called 'informant allegations' related to reporting on colleagues involved in labor movements.
Jo, who was also rapidly promoted from Commissioner to Senior Commissioner within six months alongside Kim, is a graduate of the 6th class of the Korean National Police University. Born in Cheongsong, Gyeongbuk, Jo served as Chief of Sokcho Police Station in Gangwon and Chief of Seocho Police Station in Seoul before being promoted to Superintendent in 2019. He was seconded to the 20th Presidential Transition Committee from March to May and was promoted to Commissioner within a month after returning. Woo, the new Deputy Commissioner, started his police career through administrative public service special recruitment. He is from Seoul and attended Hwanil High School and Sungkyunkwan University, majoring in Law. He was promoted to Commissioner in 2020 and has since served as Deputy Commissioner of Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Commissioner of Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency, and Director of the Criminal Affairs Bureau at the National Police Agency’s National Investigation Headquarters.
Personnel changes were also made at the Commissioner level, just below Senior Commissioner. Kim Hee-jung, Director of the Criminal Affairs Bureau at the National Police Agency, has been appointed as the new Director of the Police Bureau. Additionally, Choi Jong-moon, Commissioner of Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency, was appointed as Director of Personnel Planning; Park Sung-joo, Commissioner of Ulsan Police Agency, as Director of Future Policing Policy; Yoon So-sik, Commissioner of Daejeon Police Agency, as Director of the Traffic Bureau; Kim Soo-hwan, Director of the National Security Investigation Bureau at the National Police Agency’s National Investigation Headquarters, as Director of the Public Safety Information Bureau; Kim Byung-woo, Police Administrator at Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, as Director of Investigation Planning and Coordination at the National Investigation Headquarters; Kim Gap-sik, Commissioner of Chungnam Provincial Police Agency, as Director of the Criminal Affairs Bureau at the National Investigation Headquarters; Choi Hyun-seok, Head of the Investigation Department at Daejeon Police Agency, as Director of the Cyber Investigation Bureau at the National Investigation Headquarters; Han Chang-hoon, Head of the Traffic Guidance Department at Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, as Director of the National Security Investigation Bureau at the National Investigation Headquarters; and Kim Nam-hyun, Commissioner of Daegu Police Agency, as Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety at Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. Kim Byung-woo, Choi Hyun-seok, and Han Chang-hoon were all promoted from Superintendent to Commissioner on the 20th.
Appointments for provincial police agency commissioners at the Commissioner rank were also announced. Kim Soo-young, Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety at Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, was appointed Commissioner of Daegu Police Agency; Jeong Yong-geun, Director of the Traffic Bureau at the National Police Agency, as Commissioner of Daejeon Police Agency; Lee Ho-young, Director of Personnel Planning at the National Police Agency, as Commissioner of Ulsan Police Agency; Yoo Jae-sung, Director of the Cyber Investigation Bureau at the National Investigation Headquarters, as Commissioner of Chungnam Provincial Police Agency; and Choi Joo-won, Director of Investigation Planning and Coordination at the National Investigation Headquarters, as Commissioner of Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency.
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