Only 2.2% of 135 Total Superintendent Promotion Appointees
Despite High Security Demand... Fewer Than Sejong, Ulsan, and Jeju Cheong
[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Although three police superintendents, known as the "flower of the police," were promoted each from the Gwangju and Jeonnam Police Agencies, mixed reactions of slight disappointment have emerged, raising concerns about neglect.
Following the recent promotion of no one to the rank of senior superintendent, the National Police Agency conducted a large-scale promotion of 135 superintendents, but Gwangju and Jeonnam only accounted for six, which is considered insufficient.
According to the National Police Agency on the 10th, the scheduled superintendent promotions from the Gwangju Police Agency are Yang Baek-seung, Chief of the Administrative Division; Jeon Byung-hyun, Chief of the Inspection Division; and Yang Soo-geun, Chief of the Criminal Investigation Division.
Yang Baek-seung and Jeon Byung-hyun were commissioned as patrol officers, while Yang Soo-geun, a graduate of the Korean National Police University (11th class), began his police career as the head of the Economic Team at Gwangsan Police Station.
From the Jeonnam Police Agency, Lee Jeong-ho, Chief of the Intelligence and Situation Division; Park Jong-ho, Chief of the Investigation Review Division; and Kim Dae-won, Chief of the Community Safety Division, were promoted to superintendent.
Lee Jeong-ho started his public service as a patrol officer through the general recruitment exam, Park Jong-ho graduated from the Korean National Police University (12th class) and began as a lieutenant, and Kim Dae-won started as a candidate officer (51st class).
The total number of superintendent promotions is a record-breaking 135, which is about a 55% increase compared to 87 last year.
The introduction of the "multiple rank system," which allows one position to be held by multiple ranks (chief inspector and superintendent), increased the number of superintendent positions nationwide by 58, creating promotion opportunities.
Since a superintendent can be assigned to a position previously held by a chief inspector, expectations arose that the promotion backlog issue would be resolved.
For this reason, the Gwangju and Jeonnam Police Agencies expected to produce four superintendents each, including those under the multiple rank system, but the results fell somewhat short.
This number is the fourth lowest after Sejong Police Agency (1), Ulsan and Jeju Police Agencies (2 each), accounting for only 2.2% of the total.
Other regional police agencies with fewer officers per capita than Gwangju Police Agency (404 officers as of 2021) actually produced more "flowers of the police."
Busan Police Agency (360 officers) produced 8, Gangwon Police Agency (340 officers) 5, Jeonbuk Police Agency (348 officers) 4, and Gyeongbuk Police Agency (383 officers) 4.
A police official said, "We expected the number of superintendent promotions to increase due to the implementation of the multiple rank system, but it seems to have fallen short of initial expectations."
He added, "There are various criteria such as the number of promotion candidates and work performance, but from the perspective of regional allocation based on local security needs, there are regrettable aspects."
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