Possibility of External Recruitment Alongside Internal Police Selection Considered
Actual Appointment Expected by Late April or Early May
Woo Jong-su, Southern Police Chief, Likely if Internal Selection Occurs
The National Police Agency has reportedly been unable to decide how to proceed with the appointment process for the vacant head of the National Investigation Headquarters (NIH) for two weeks following the withdrawal of lawyer Jeong Soon-shin. Concerns are emerging both inside and outside the police that the leadership vacuum in the investigative police may be prolonged.
According to police sources on the 10th, the National Police Agency has not yet finalized whether to reopen the recruitment for the next NIH chief as of today.
Earlier, at a regular briefing on the 6th, Police Commissioner Yoon Hee-geun responded to related inquiries by saying, "I think I will be able to inform you soon about the procedures to appoint the new NIH chief," but there has been virtually no progress over the past week.
Commissioner Yoon had previously recommended lawyer Jeong, a former prosecutor, to President Yoon Seok-yeol as the new NIH chief through an external recruitment process. However, Jeong resigned on the 25th of last month, just one day after her appointment, due to issues related to her son's school violence, and the NIH has been operating under an acting chief system since the following day.
According to the Act on the Organization and Operation of the National Police and Autonomous Police (Police Act), the NIH chief can be appointed from both internal and external candidates. Article 16, Paragraph 6 of the Police Act stipulates that external recruitment for the NIH chief should only be conducted "when necessary." This means it is possible to select the chief from within the police without an external recruitment process.
Within the police, there is a strong expectation that the next NIH chief appointment process will involve reopening the external recruitment. If the decision had been made to select internally, the appointment process would likely have already started. Commissioner Yoon’s earlier remarks at the briefing, leaving room for recommendation and appointment through external re-recruitment, add credibility to this speculation.
If the external recruitment is reopened, the process will inevitably take a considerable amount of time. Considering that the previous recruitment process for lawyer Jeong took about 50 days, even if expedited, it is estimated that it would require about a month. In this case, the actual appointment is expected to be possible around late April or early May.
Since lawyer Jeong’s withdrawal last month, the NIH has been operating under the acting chief system led by Kim Byung-woo, Director of Investigation Planning and Coordination (Police Commissioner). However, if the leadership gap continues to lengthen, there could be criticisms that the command, control, and supervision of police investigations might be compromised. Ultimately, the solution is the prompt appointment of a new NIH chief.
Due to these circumstances, the possibility of an internal appointment still remains alive. Among internal candidates, Woo Jong-su, Commissioner of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, is strongly mentioned. Although Choi Joo-won, Commissioner of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency, was also considered a candidate, recent internal trends reportedly favor Commissioner Woo.
The NIH also experienced a leadership vacancy period when it was launched two years ago. The NIH was established on January 1, 2021, but the inaugural chief was appointed on February 25 of the same year. At that time, five candidates, including former senior police officers and lawyers, applied, but ultimately an internal candidate, former chief Nam, was selected. During this process, then-Director of Investigation Choi Seung-ryeol served as acting chief for nearly two months.
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