Will the Lee Jae-myung administration get its first police chief? Yun Ho-jung recommends candidate Kim Jong-chul for appointment

[Financial News]  Yun Ho-jung, Minister of the Interior and Safety, recommended Kim Jong-chul, deputy chief of the Korean National Police Agency, to the president for appointment as the agency’s new commissioner general on the 6th. The acting commissioner general system, which had continued for about 23 months since the impeachment motion against then Commissioner General Jo Ji-ho in December 2024, has entered its final stages.
That day, Minister Yun recommended Deputy Chief Kim to the president for appointment as commissioner general, with the consent of the National Police Commission.
The commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency is recommended by the minister of the interior and safety with the consent of the National Police Commission, and appointed by the president after a National Assembly confirmation hearing. The president may appoint the nominee even if the hearing produces an unfavorable assessment.
Before attending a special meeting of the National Police Commission that day, Kim met with reporters and said, “I feel a profound sense of responsibility for being named a candidate for commissioner general at such a serious time.” He noted that public expectations of the police are higher than ever, but that voices of concern are also strong.
Kim was born in 1970 in Hamyang, South Gyeongsang Province, and graduated from Myungshin High School in Jinju and the English Department of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. In 1997, he joined the police as an inspector as a member of the 45th class of police executive candidates.
He served as chief of Seocho Police Station in Seoul in 2019 and was promoted to senior superintendent general in 2021, taking charge of the Autonomous Police Division at Busan Metropolitan Police Agency. In July of the same year, he worked at the Blue House’s State Affairs Situation Room under the Moon Jae-in administration.  He later served as head of the Public Safety Divisions at the Daegu and Daejeon Police Agencies, the Life Safety and Transportation Division at Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, the Public Safety Division at Chungnam Provincial Police Agency, and the Life Safety Division at Gangwon Provincial Police Agency, among other posts.
In September last year, he was promoted to superintendent general and became chief of Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency. In August, he was tapped for promotion to chief superintendent general. He was then appointed deputy chief of the Korean National Police Agency in September and has served as acting commissioner general.
The Korean National Police Agency has operated under an acting chief since former Commissioner General Jo’s duties were suspended following the impeachment motion against him on December 12, 2024. If Kim is appointed after a National Assembly confirmation hearing, a permanent commissioner general will take office for the first time in about 23 months.
[email protected] Lee Bomi Reporter