Police Commissioner Nominee Kim Jong-chul: “Public Safety Comes First... Focus on Securing Investigative Personnel and Funding”

[Financial News] Kim Jong-chul, nominee for police chief, identified responses to violent crimes, including relationship-based crimes and crimes with unusual motives, as his top priority. He plans to work to secure investigative personnel and funding to establish the new criminal justice system and to protect frontline police officers.
Candidate Kim told reporters at the National Police Agency in Seoul’s Seodaemun District on the morning of the 9th, “Above all, I will make protecting the public’s safety and lives my top priority. By bringing together the experience and wisdom of my fellow police officers, I will work to restore public trust one step at a time, starting in the field.”
Candidate Kim, whose nomination as police chief was approved by the National Police Commission (South Korea) on the 6th, said, “I am well aware of the expectations and concerns of the public and my colleagues within the organization,” adding, “I feel a tremendous sense of responsibility.” He continued, “The police have a great deal to do to ease public anxiety about violent crimes, such as crimes with unusual motives and relationship-based crimes, and to establish the new criminal justice system.” He emphasized, “I plan to focus more on securing personnel and funding so that frontline officers can work with conviction and confidence.”
On key priorities, he again cited responses to relationship-based and violent crimes, explaining, “I will check whether existing manuals are being properly implemented in the field and work with relevant ministries to address any gaps in the law.”
He also emphasized protecting frontline officers. Citing the case of an officer seriously injured in a secondary collision while responding to a recent traffic accident, Candidate Kim said that police officers are killed in the line of duty 2.8 times as often as general civil servants and suffer work-related injuries at least 2.5 times as often, but that support and recognition for them are inadequate.
He said, “I will do my utmost to improve the system and secure funding so that officers in the field can trust that the state will take responsibility for their dedication and sacrifice to the very end.” Referring to the assignment of dedicated support staff for officers killed or injured in the line of duty at each provincial and metropolitan police agency last September, he added, “We will ensure that bereaved families can focus on returning to daily life and injured officers on treatment and rehabilitation.”
Regarding police investigative reform, he said he would consider how to implement the Investigation Reform Committee’s recommendations, including strengthening the personnel and budgetary powers of the National Office of Investigation (NOI) and restoring cybercrime and forensic investigation units. The committee previously issued its third set of recommendations on the 2nd, including measures to increase external appointments to the post of NOI chief and ensure independence in staffing and budgeting.
He said the police had bolstered investigative staffing by a total of 4,220 since June last year, including the additional deployment of 2,313 personnel in the second half of this year. He plans to continue consultations with relevant agencies to secure additional personnel and funding for case investigations.
Regarding improvements to the rotation-based personnel system, he said feedback from officers in the field had been gathered over about three months and reported to the Investigation Reform Committee. Responding to claims that the committee had called for tougher measures than those proposed by the National Police Agency, he said, “That is completely untrue,” and countered that opinions had been raised that the causal link between misconduct involving collusion and personnel rotations was unclear.
Responding to concerns that the police chief’s attendance at State Council of South Korea meetings could undermine investigative independence, he said, “I attended several State Council meetings as acting chief, but not once did I discuss a specific case,” adding that political neutrality would not be compromised.
Funding for responses to relationship-based crimes will also be expanded. The 2027 government budget proposal newly includes funding for scenario-based training on such crimes and specialized services to detect tracking devices, while funding for victim safety measures using intelligent closed-circuit television (CCTV) has also been increased. The government also plans to secure additional funding for facilities to isolate perpetrators and to increase staffing for women and youth services.
Interagency consultations on establishing a Women and Youth Safety Bureau have also been completed. Personnel costs for the additional staff have been included in the government budget proposal, and the bureau is expected to be established in 2027 following a revision to the organizational structure after next year’s budget is finalized.
Regarding the response to cybercrime, he said he had received no separate information about the “cybersecurity czar”—the government-wide body overseeing cybersecurity mentioned by President Lee Jae-myung. The police are working to join the Budapest Convention and establish an analysis system using generative artificial intelligence (AI).
Guidelines for investigating medical accidents are under consideration, including consulting hospital administrators in advance when responding to a report, prioritizing patient safety, and conducting searches and seizures in nonclinical areas first. Regarding the search of Ajou University Hospital, the police maintained that it was carried out within the minimum necessary scope after prior consultation with the hospital.
The National Police Agency’s relocation to Sejong City is planned to begin construction in 2029, with completion and relocation scheduled for 2031. He said that establishing a law school at the Korean National Police University (KNPU) had never been formally considered or pursued.
Meanwhile, a National Police Agency official said in written responses that 3,288 serious-crime cases were reported to the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency (SCIA) from the 2nd to the 29th of last month, and that three of them were transferred. Many of the reports came from units dealing with voice phishing and drug-related crimes, but the specific details of the transferred cases were not disclosed. The rate at which prosecutors declined to seek warrants applied for by police has also risen sharply since the amended Criminal Procedure Act of the Republic of Korea took effect.
The suspected leak of personal information from Air Force One was formally shifted to an investigation on the 3rd, and an international joint investigation is also underway into a financial-sector hacking case.
The case involving lawmaker Kim Byung-gi is proceeding through major-case cooperation procedures with the Prosecution Office. A total of four complaints concerning lawmaker Han Dong-hoon’s children were assigned to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Metropolitan Criminal Investigation Unit, which also questioned the complainants. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Financial Crime Investigation Unit is investigating allegations that lawmaker Kim Seung-won sought favors related to a clinical trial, while the investigation into allegations involving Lee Hye-hoon, a former nominee for Minister of Planning and Budget, is nearing completion.
Police conducted further interviews with Seoul Metropolitan Government officials and project-related parties over suspected kickbacks connected to the city’s Hangang Bus contract. In the Guro District case involving the disposal of a body, police are awaiting the results of a detailed autopsy examination of the deceased Chinese national, a man in his 50s, while also tracing the whereabouts of the cohabitant who left the country while the deceased was hospitalized and checking the deceased’s movements after discharge.
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