Whether the post of Korean National Police Agency commissioner, vacant for the 21st month since the Dec. 3 martial law, will be filled with this round of promotions to senior superintendent general is drawing attention. With the Prosecution Service's abolition and the launch of the Serious Crimes Investigation Service (Jung Su Cheong) and the Public Prosecution Service slated for Oct., the police's investigative authority and role will grow, but the organization remains under an acting leadership system.
As the government carried out personnel appointments for senior superintendent generals, who form the candidate pool for the next Korean National Police Agency commissioner, some expect a new commissioner to be appointed soon. On the other hand, variables such as the selection of the Serious Crimes Investigation Service chief and discussion of opening the commissioner post to outside candidates could delay the appointment further.
According to the Korean National Police Agency on the 2nd, Kim Jong-chul, Vice Administrator of the Korean National Police Agency; Ko Beom-seok, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency; and Yu Seung-ryeol, head of the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency, were promoted and appointed as senior superintendent generals the previous day. Senior superintendent general is the rank directly below the commissioner (general superintendent). Under the Police Officials Act, the Korean National Police Agency commissioner can be promoted and appointed only from among senior superintendent generals, so they are usually considered the next commissioner candidate pool.
◇ Promotions to senior superintendent general… will the selection of the commissioner speed up?
The latest appointments made the next commissioner candidate pool clearer. Current senior superintendent generals include Vice Administrator Kim; Ko, the Seoul agency chief; Yu, the Incheon agency chief; Hwang Chang-seon, head of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency; and Kim Seong-hee, head of the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency. The police university president's post is vacant. The head of the National Office of Investigation (NOI) serves a nonrenewable two-year term and has never been appointed as the Korean National Police Agency commissioner.
Within the police, there is hope that this round of appointments will add momentum to selecting the commissioner. In the past, there was a case where the Korean National Police Agency commissioner was appointed just a month after promotions to senior superintendent general.
In particular, when the Prosecution Service is abolished next month and the Serious Crimes Investigation Service and the Public Prosecution Service are launched, the scope and role of investigations to be handled by the police will expand. With the prosecution's direct-investigation function being reduced, it will be difficult to keep leaving the commissioner post, which will direct and coordinate police investigations, vacant. The recent "Jang Yoon-gi case" and the Jeju missing-person false-closure case, among other controversies over internal control and shoddy investigations, have also heightened concerns about the leadership vacuum.
A police official said, "Because this is a time when the criminal justice system is changing significantly, there is a sense that a formal commissioner is needed to establish organizational discipline and stabilize the investigative system."
◇ From impeachment to retirement-age controversy… the prolonged vacancy at the top of the Korean National Police Agency
The vacancy in the Korean National Police Agency commissioner post cannot be seen as a simple delay in appointments. Former commissioner Cho Ji-ho was impeached on Dec. 2024 due to the fallout from the Dec. 3 martial law and was suspended from duty, and only after the Constitutional Court decided on dismissal in Dec. last year was it possible to select a successor.
Even after that, because the Korean National Police Agency commissioner can be appointed only from among senior superintendent generals, it took time to form a new candidate pool. With controversy over involvement in the martial law making it inevitable to replace the existing leadership, promotions of superintendent generals to senior superintendent general were also delayed.
The clash between the commissioner's two-year term and the mandatory retirement age of 60 was also a variable. A bill to exempt the post from the retirement rule was held up in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee amid controversy over "legislation tailored to a specific individual." There is also a political interpretation that the Lee Jae-myung administration preferred an acting system during its overhaul of the criminal justice system.
A political source said, "Not only the Korean National Police Agency commissioner but also the prosecutor general has remained under an acting system," and added, "In the process of overhauling the criminal justice system, perhaps they did not want to place a leader who could serve as a focal point for each organization."
◇ Will the Serious Crimes Investigation Service chief be picked first… opening the post to outsiders is also a variable
The appointments are not expected to proceed smoothly going forward. The inaugural Serious Crimes Investigation Service chief could be appointed before the Korean National Police Agency commissioner.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety received recommendations for candidates for the Serious Crimes Investigation Service chief last month and launched the candidate recommendation committee this month. If the committee recommends three or more candidates, the Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will nominate one to the president, and after a National Assembly confirmation hearing, the candidate will be appointed. Yoon Ho-jung, the Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, projected the final appointment for late this month.
Opening the Korean National Police Agency commissioner post to outside candidates is also a variable. At a forum hosted on the 31st of last month by Rep. Lee Sang-sik of the Democratic Party of Korea and the Korean National Police Agency, Yoo Seung-ik, a law professor at Myongji University, proposed opening the commissioner post to people with at least 15 years' experience as a judge, prosecutor, or attorney, as well as professors of law or police studies.
If this discussion leads to an actual institutional overhaul, the traditional method of selecting the Korean National Police Agency commissioner, which has centered on senior superintendent generals, could change fundamentally.
◇ A 21-month vacancy at the top… "A leader is needed to steady the organization"
With Yoo Jae-seong, acting Korean National Police Agency commissioner, retiring on the 2nd, a new acting system under Kim Jong-chul, the newly appointed acting Korean National Police Agency commissioner, has begun. It is the third acting system since the Dec. 3 martial law.
Within the police, there is a view that while the vacancy at the top is not the direct cause of recent controversies over shoddy investigations and misconduct—such as the Jang Yoon-gi case and the Jeju missing-person false-closure case—the longer it continues, the more the organization's center of gravity could weaken.
A police official said, "As the police's investigative authority grows and the criminal justice system changes, to steady the organization and respond to the new system, a formal leader needs to take the lead."