“We will neither hide nor cover up wrongdoing”... Kim Jongcheol’s first message as acting police chief is “police reform”

[Financial News] On his first day in office, Kim Jongcheol, the newly appointed acting commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency, apologized for the Jang Yun-gi case and the Jeju missing-person cover-up case and pledged fundamental reform of the police organization. The police will overhaul the entire process for missing-person cases, from intake and searches to investigations, management, and supervision. It will also establish a separate Police Reform Task Force to reassess the organization, systems, and methods used in field operations.
At 9 a.m. on the 3rd, Kim chaired a meeting of the national police leadership at the Korean National Police Agency in Seoul’s Seodaemun District, attended by heads of metropolitan and provincial police agencies nationwide and others. He said, “In the recent Jang Yun-gi case and the Jeju missing-person cover-up case, the police, whose duty is to protect the lives and safety of the people, failed to perform their role. We also failed to properly respond to the desperate pleas of those anxiously waiting to learn whether their loved ones were alive.”
He continued, “The people are asking: ‘Can we really trust the police?’ As acting commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency, I will neither evade this question nor make excuses.”
Kim said the police would look beyond holding individual officers accountable and examine structural causes, including the management and supervision system. He stressed, “We will thoroughly identify and correct, one by one, why such incidents were possible in the field, why the management and supervision systems failed to function properly, and why the public’s voices directed at the police were ignored.”
Accordingly, the police will first overhaul the missing-person response system, which has recently become the focus of controversy. To prevent cases from being handled inadequately or neglected, they plan to review and improve the entire process, from the initial response through reporting, command, case closure, and final accountability.
The ongoing nationwide review of missing-person cases will also be expedited. If inappropriate work practices are identified, the police will impose strict accountability regardless of position or rank.
Kim said, “From now on, we will disclose police wrongdoing as it is and root out the culture of hiding or covering up mistakes. When wrongdoing is confirmed, we will transparently inform the public whose fault it was and where responsibility for command and supervision lies.”
He also emphasized, “Acts that undermine the fairness and independence of investigations, downplay or conceal cases, or give the public explanations that differ from the facts will no longer be allowed to take root in the police.”
The police will also begin reform efforts across the organization. Kim plans to launch a Police Reform Task Force at the Korean National Police Agency to reassess from the ground up the methods and systems used to respond to crime, structural problems, oversight of the police, and organizational culture. He also said the agency would assign police chiefs to metropolitan and provincial agencies who have no ties to the regions concerned, thereby preventing the possibility of favoritism and collusion and supporting fair performance of duties.
Preparing for the reorganization of the criminal justice system, now one month away, was also presented as a key task. Kim promised, “We will establish institutional measures to improve the police’s investigative capabilities and expertise and dispel concerns about cases being buried and investigations being inadequate or unfair.” The police will also strengthen their response for people vulnerable to crime and danger, including children, older adults, women, and people with disabilities, as well as protection and support for crime victims.
The meeting was Kim’s first official event since he became acting commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency. He skipped a separate inauguration ceremony and convened the national police leadership instead. It was also the first meeting at which the leadership, newly replaced through personnel appointments, gathered before taking up their posts in the field.
The meeting focused on measures to reform missing-person investigations, follow-up measures under the revised Criminal Procedure Act of the Republic of Korea, and plans to advance police reform. The police adopted the slogan for the meeting: “With profound remorse and thorough reform, we will rebuild the police from the ground up.”
Kim said, “We will put public safety before the police’s achievements, the truth before the organization’s pride, and the people’s rights before officers’ convenience. We will do our utmost for every single report and never turn away from even one person’s injustice.”
He added, “Without trust, the police cannot stand; if the police lose the public’s trust, they have no reason to exist. We will not stop at a feast of words—we will demonstrate change and action.”
[email protected] Yeji Kim Reporter