Appointment of Woo Jong-su, Former Police Officer, as the 2nd Head of the National Food Headquarters

Head of the National Police Agency's Investigation Department Appointed 'For the Second Consecutive Time' from Police Background
Expert Investigator... Experience Leading the Druking Investigation

Woo Jong-su (55), Chief of the Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency, has been appointed as the 2nd Chief of the National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters. This internal appointment came a month after lawyer Jeong Soon-shin was dropped.

President Yoon Suk-yeol announced on the 27th that Woo will be appointed as the 2nd Chief of the National Investigation Headquarters on the 29th. The Chief will command the heads of 18 metropolitan and provincial police agencies nationwide and 35,000 investigative police officers across the country. With this, both the 1st and 2nd Chiefs of the National Investigation Headquarters will be filled by former police officers.

Woo, a native of Seoul, entered the police force in 1999 through a special recruitment for administrative examination passers. He has served as Chief of Yongsan Police Station in Seoul, Head of the Investigation Department at Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, and Director of the Criminal Affairs Bureau at the National Police Agency. In 2018, while serving as Head of the Investigation Department at Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, he led the investigation into the Druking comment manipulation case and also served as an attach? at the Embassy in Russia.

The National Police Agency stated that "he is deemed the right person to lead the police investigative organization in a future-oriented manner with a balanced perspective and proactive communication." Police Chief Yoon Hee-geun had previously recommended to the presidential office that an internal appointment would be preferable.

The government is known to have considered internal opposition within the police to external appointments following lawyer Jeong Soon-shin's withdrawal, as well as the fact that Woo had passed verification during past police promotion processes, reducing risk.

It also appears that the additional minimum 50 days required for external recruitment procedures was a burden. According to political circles, Woo’s background as an administrative examination passer was also viewed positively. Since Woo is not a graduate of the Korean National Police University, it was believed he could bridge the gap among graduates from the Police University, executive candidates, and general recruits.

Within the police, there is a welcoming atmosphere, saying "he is someone who understands investigations." A senior officer at the superintendent level in Seoul commented, "He strongly pushes forward tasks by his own will and has a strong reformist tendency," adding, "He is modest in character and very rational in his work." Investigative police officers who worked with him at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said he broke the mold of investigative work. Woo, as Head of the Investigation Department, reassigned face-to-face fraud cases involving voice phishing to the Criminal Affairs Division, enabling more active pursuit investigations.

A National Police Agency official said, "He has experience handling major cases as deputy head and head of investigations and receives good evaluations from colleagues," adding, "He is expected to play a significant role in strengthening investigative capabilities."

Even those recruited through special lawyer channels responded positively. They said, "It is positive that special recruitment passers such as administrative and bar exam passers are being appointed as executives," and "The atmosphere had been that prosecutors dominated the police organization, so it is fortunate that a balanced appointment has finally been made."

However, one investigative police officer added, "It is desirable that an internal appointment was made without wasting time on external recruitment procedures," but expressed concern, saying, "Since the police have held the Chief position of the National Investigation Headquarters for two consecutive terms, if criticism arises regarding investigations, it could become a double-edged sword where the police alone are blamed."