Acting Commissioner General of Police, No Comment on Criticism of Yoon Loyalty Appointment

Lee Ho-young, Acting Commissioner of the National Police Agency, stated on the 18th regarding the high-ranking police personnel appointments, "Since it is a government personnel matter, I have nothing to say."

Assemblyman Wi Seong-gon of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

On the same day, during the plenary session of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, Lee made this remark in response to a question from Wi Seong-gon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, who alleged that "personnel loyal to President Yoon Seok-yeol and the People Power Party were appointed."

Wi pointed out, "Park Hyun-soo, Acting Commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, took 9 months to be promoted to Police Commissioner and 1 year and 4 months to Police Senior Commissioner. Nam Je-hyun and Jo Jeong-rae, Police Superintendents, were promoted within a year, and Park Jong-seop, Police Superintendent, was promoted in just 6 months. The average time for promotion to Police Commissioner is 3 years; who would accept this?"

Wi also criticized, "The National Police Commissioner and the Seoul Metropolitan Police Commissioner are currently detained on charges of rebellion. The police agency has lost its senses and promoted such individuals. How can this be justified when they are protecting rebellion?"

Acting Commissioner Lee emphasized, "I was the first to raise the necessity of personnel changes," and added, "I recommended capable individuals in consultation with the Acting Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety."

Regarding the question of whether he had received a phone call from a presidential office official before the police personnel appointments, Lee responded, "Not recently."

Earlier, controversy arose when Park Hyun-soo, Director of the Police Bureau at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, was appointed as the Commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on the 7th. Acting Commissioner Park was appointed to key positions such as the Personnel Verification Team of the Presidential Transition Committee and the National Situation Room of the Presidential Office under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, followed by Director of the Police Intelligence Bureau at the National Police Agency and Director of the Police Bureau at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. It was revealed that Acting Commissioner Park had multiple phone calls shortly after the martial law declaration with former National Police Commissioner Jo Ji-ho, former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, and Director of the Police Security Bureau Im Jeong-ju, among others.