Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency Head Kim Jong-cheol was appointed as the Deputy Commissioner General of the Korean National Police Agency today (September 1), marking the third acting chief system for the agency since the martial law incident.

The position of the National Police Agency Commissioner General has remained vacant for 1 year and 9 months since the emergency martial law situation in December 2024.

Following the emergency arrest of National Police Agency Commissioner General Cho Ji-ho, who was implicated in the martial law, Deputy Commissioners General Lee Ho-young and Yoo Jae-sung have sequentially served as acting chiefs.

This latest personnel appointment effectively extends the acting chief system once again.

Deputy Commissioner General Yoo Jae-sung, who was previously rumored as a candidate for the commissioner general post, will hold his farewell ceremony tomorrow after serving as acting chief for 1 year and 3 months, the longest period in police history.

This is interpreted as a partial reflection of accountability issues raised amid controversies over poor investigations into the "Jang Yoon-ki incident" ahead of the abolition of the prosecutors' office, the false closure of a missing person case in Jeju, and various police misconduct.

Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Head Park Jung-bok, who was also considered a candidate for the commissioner general post, will leave the police organization.

As a result, a new pool of candidates for the next commissioner general has been formed, centered around newly promoted senior superintendents general such as Acting Chief Kim Jong-cheol, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Head Ko Beom-seok, and Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency Head Yoo Seung-ryol.

Ko Pyeong-ki, head of the Jeju Provincial Police Agency who was 내정된 (nominated for) promotion to senior superintendent general last month, was moved to the post of Director General of Public Safety and Security at the National Police Agency, a position held by a superintendent general.

This can be seen as a failure to officially assume the promoted rank.

It is viewed as a disciplinary personnel action resulting from the false closure of the Jeju missing person case.

Ko is expected to oversee follow-up measures for missing person issues at the Public Safety Bureau for the time being.

Inside and outside the police force, there are also forecasts that former Chungbuk Police Agency Head Lee Jong-won, who moved from superintendent general to the presidential secretary for public safety, will return to the police in the future and be included in the pool of candidates for the next commissioner general.

With the abolition of the prosecutors' office and the launch of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency and the Office of Public Prosecution scheduled for October, opinions are also emerging that the head of the 140,000-strong police organization cannot be left vacant indefinitely.

In particular, as concerns grow over a "dinosaur police force" that holds over 140,000 personnel as well as all investigative powers, the need for checks and balances is increasing, making the need for a head of the police organization to coordinate this even more pressing.

Reflecting this atmosphere, forecasts suggest that the appointment of the next National Police Agency Commissioner General will also gain momentum.

In the past, there have been cases where a senior superintendent general was promoted to commissioner general in a super-fast track.

Meanwhile, the government replaced 14 out of 18 regional provincial police agency heads (78%) today.

The National Police Agency explained that it fully applied the "hyang-pi-je" (a personnel system prohibiting assignment to one's hometown or region) across all 18 regional police agencies to strengthen the fairness and accountability of police operations.

Kim Young-geun, head of the Gwangju Provincial Police Agency who faced accountability issues due to the "Jang Yoon-ki incident," was moved laterally to the post of Director General of Crime Prevention and Response at the National Police Agency, a position held by a superintendent general.

Yang Young-woo, head of the 101st Security Regiment of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, was appointed as the new Gwangju Police Agency head, and Kim Byung-chan, Director General for Personnel and Training, was appointed as the Jeju Police Agency head.